Ultrasound to Detect Evidence for Retinal Detachment in Retinopathy of Prematurity

Retinopathy of prematurity requires the early detection of retinopathy in neonates with a gestational age of < 28 weeks and a birth weight <1500 g. These evaluations require pupillary dilation, diagnostic expertise, consume much time and expense and are not without morbidity.

B-scan ultrasonography using a hand-held probe is part of the current ophthalmologist's armamentarium, providing a non-invasive view of the eye and avoiding the morbidity associated with mydriatic drops used for pupillary dilation.

We will use a simple water bath enclosure for a standard 20 MHz probe currently in general ophthalmic use to determine whether this simple technique might supplant indirect ophthalmoscopy as a screening technique. We will compare, using masked observers, the clinical findings of indirect ophthalmoscopy of neonatal infants with ultrasonic findings to determine if a correlation in the stages of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) between the two techniques existed.