Eye Care Center Debuts Revolutionary Ophthalmic Technology - First in U.S. to Acquire Heidelberg Engineering's "Slit Lamp-OCT(TM)".

Highly Advanced Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Technology Anticipated to Improve Detection, Diagnosis, and Management of Eye Diseases

FULLERTON, Calif. -- The Eye Care Center at the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO), known for its cutting-edge research, patient care, and clinical education, is breaking new ground in the field of ophthalmic care with the introduction of the first ever Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) slit lamp combined imaging system in the United States - Heidelberg Engineering's Slit Lamp-OCT[TM] (SL-OCT). This advanced technology allows for a clearer and more detailed view of the cornea and anterior eye tissues than ever before possible, and, unlike other technologies for front of the eye imaging, it is completely non-invasive and produces crystal clear images and analysis in real-time.

"This technology will revolutionize the way the medical community diagnoses, treats and evaluates multiple eye health issues," said David Sendrowski, O.D., chief of ophthalmology consultation and special testing services at the Eye Care Center. "Practitioners at the Eye Care Center are among the first in the U.S. able to view the eye in this completely new way, using non-contact ultrasound-like technology. The accuracy and detail of the image it produces will give doctors a more precise understanding of the eye, and will lead to early detection and diagnoses, more defined treatment, and ultimately better patient outcomes."

Much like a risk-free, non-contact MRI or CAT scan for the eye, OCT technology is 40 times faster, and more sensitive than anything else in the United States. The high-quality cross-sectional images it produces show eye care practitioners detail not previously seen without expensive, invasive, and often painful biomicroscopy. SL-OCT pairs OCT (optical coherence tomography) with a slit lamp to facilitate examination of the eye.

Doctors agree that early detection of blinding ocular disorders is key to preserving vision and eye health. The SL-OCT will allow practitioners to diagnose 'sick eyes' much more quickly than a normal standard of care technique would even detect a problem. Its clinical applications range from more accuracy in Lasik procedures and other eye surgeries, to anterior segment tumor detection, pre- and post-op corneal evaluations, early detection of sudden onset glaucoma and the more effective management of other common vision and eye health issues.

"While it will likely be years before this revolutionary technology is fully-integrated into general practice, one of the great things about it is how consumer-friendly it is. Patients don't like having a doctor's finger or equipment touching their eyes. This technology gives doctors more accurate and detailed images than ever before and nothing ever touches the patient's eye or makes them uncomfortable," said Sendrowski.

The Eye Care Center worked closely with Heidelberg Engineering to support the development of the SL-OCT. Through this partnership, the Eye Care Center was able to purchase an early version of the device before its general market release expected in March 2007. While the device has been FDA approved, its automatic image analysis software is pending approval in the next several weeks.

The SL-OCT and several other pieces of new technology were purchased as part of a grant from The Fletcher Jones Foundation for the Ocular Diagnostic Treatment Center at the Eye Care Center at SCCO. This instrumentation will advance both patient care and students' clinical education at the institution.

ABOUT THE FLETCHER JONES FOUNDATION: The Fletcher Jones Foundation was established in 1969 by Fletcher Jones, Founder of Computer Sciences Corporation. The Foundation's central mission is the support of private, higher educational institutions in California. For more information, visit www.fletcherjonesfdn.org.

ABOUT THE EYE CARE CENTER: The Eye Care Center at Southern California College of Optometry is one of Southern California's premier eye and vision care centers. Dedicated to providing excellence in patient care, clinical education and research, the Eye Care Center is one of California's largest patient care and clinical teaching facilities in the state, and is home to state-of-the-art technology and a dedicated staff of professionals. The Eye Care Center is located at 2575 Yorba Linda Boulevard in Fullerton, Calif. For more information, call [phone] or visit www.sccoeyecare.com.

Editor's Note: Media demonstrations, tours of the Eye Care Center, and interviews with the doctors currently using this new technology are readily available.