I have been dying to get down and dirty with some crafting and getting some new projects posted on here, but work has been so freakin busy lately! By the time I get home, I am too tired to craft! So I figured…since work has been consuming me lately, why not share a few of the interesting cases I have been photographing!
These diagnostic images are interesting displays of how complex our bodies are, and become a sort of “abstract art.” Some of these are quite rare conditions and make for very “eye-catching” images (pun totally intended).
This is a very complex case of a patient who, according to our MD, has wet macular degeneration along with an arterial macroaneurysm. There is blood both above and below the retina. The images are a color photograph complimented by an OCT scan. OCT stands for optical coherence tomography, and is a type of high magnification, cross-sectional imaging. The orientation of the OCT can be seen in the lower left corner of the inset. I love how the cyst of half fluid and half blood looks on the scan!
Shown here is some kind of crazy blood vessel abnormality…obviously!! I can’t find the dude’s chart or else I’d give a little more information on how the MD described this pathology. I think it’s just plain COOL! Super sharp, tortuous veins and arteries always make for interesting photos!
This patient has a very large tumor in his eye, seen on the right. This image is a mosaic, made up of multiple images shot on multiple planes of focus. The top of the tumor seen here is actually about 8-9 millimeters elevated from the retina…which is a lot in terms of tiny eyeballs. Unfortunately, this eye will most likely have to be removed.
This is a 9 mm OCT scan of a patient with a very rare disease called Vogt Koyanagi Harada Syndrome. It is typically seen in Hispanic, Asian, and Middle Eastern patients. It is an inflammatory disease which causes severe swelling and detaching of the retina. In a normal retina, the scan would be flat, without all of the gaps between the layers.
Here are two images, the right and left eye, respectively. The patient has what is known as “Bulls Eye Maculopathy.” It can result from hereditary conditions and also from drug toxicity, as seen with this patient (or so the MD suspects). It’s symmetry and similar appearance in each eye, when put back to back, is really neat!
This patient has “Solar Retinopathy.” This is essentially a small hole in the retina which results from staring at the sun! So, in summary, DON’T stare a the sun!!! You can really see the definition of the fine retinal layers with this black and white image.
Another interesting OCT scan shows a patient with “Foveoschisis,” which can occur in myopic eyes. It is essentially a shallow retinal detachment. I particularly like the positive/negative space effects in this scan.
This pathology is called a “Macular Star” for obvious reasons. The little yellow spots are little deposits of lipids, or fatty molecules that are in the blood. They can often create a star pattern, radiating out from the macula, which is the area of the retina responsible for central vision.
Spider webs? Nope! This is a high-mag image of a diabetic eye with tons of blood vessel abnormalities. There are even spots where the capillaries have closed off. This is the result of a diabetic patient who doesn’t take care of themselves or watch their blood sugars!
Well, I hope you have enjoyed these images as much as I have enjoyed sharing them. I am so blessed to have a job that I love, that directly helps the patients. I may take a million photos a day, but I never get sick of this stuff!!! 
Mar 03, 2011 @ 21:18:59
This is amazing work! You have some serious skills.