Clinical Photography

The Photographic Department was established by Consultant Ophthalmologist Mr David Mooney and is responsible for all clinical photography in the Royal Victoria Eye & Ear Hospital. This involves both clinical photography, public relations (PR), medical legal photography, videography, graphic design and in house photographic printing.

The department is based in the eye outpatients department, its staffed by a diverse multi disciplinary team of clinical photographers who perform clinical photography for a wide range of disciplines. You can meet our team here. They majority of clinical photography in the Eye & Ear hospital involves photography for Ophthalmology.

The photographic department contains a wide range of cameras and scanners produced by various companies and obtained for all our patients needs. These include Zeiss, Topcon, Optos, Heidelberg Engineering, Haag-Streit and Canon.

Clinical photography is the practice of creating accurate, high-quality photographic and video images of patients for clinical care, diagnosis, treatment, teaching, research, and medico-legal documentation within a healthcare setting.

Clinical photography is used to:

• Document a patient’s condition at a specific point in time.
• Monitor disease progression or response to treatment.
• Support diagnosis and clinical decision-making.
• Provide visual records for teaching, training, and research.
• Supply evidence for medical-legal and governance purposes.

Clinical photography may involve images of:

• Skin conditions and wounds.
• Surgical procedures and outcomes.
• Medical devices and injuries.
• Pre- and post-operative comparisons.
• Specialist areas, such as ophthalmic, dental, or maxillofacial photography.
• It can include both still images and video recordings, depending on clinical need

Clinical photography ensures:

• Consistent, objective visual documentation
• Improved communication between healthcare professionals
• High-quality teaching materials
• Reliable records that can support audits, research, and legal processes

Professional standards:

The photographic department in the Royal Victoria Eye & Ear Hospital adheres to the guidance and governance provided by the Institute of Medical Illustrators, based in the UK. Since 1968, the IMI has set and maintained standards for medical the illustration profession. To learn more about the IMI visit: https://www.imi.org.uk/

Clinical photography is carried out by trained clinical photographers who work to a strict
standards, including:
• Patient consent and confidentiality
• Data protection and GDPR compliance
• Infection prevention and control
• Accurate colour, scale, and positioning
• Secure storage and controlled access to images

What is Ophthalmic photography?

Ophthalmic photography is a specialised area of medical photography focused on capturing images and videos of the eye and its structures for clinical, diagnostic, teaching, and research purposes.
Ophthalmic photography documents both the external and internal anatomy of the eye, including:
• External eye: eyelids, conjunctiva, cornea, sclera and surrounding orbit.
• Anterior segment: cornea, iris, lens, (often using slit-lamp photography), specular microscopy (cell counting of corneal cells).
• Posterior segment (fundus): retina, optic disc, macula, blood vessels.
• Surgical procedures: video recording of ophthalmic operations for education and training.

Ophthalmic photography plays a vital role in:

• Diagnosis and monitoring of eye diseases (e.g. glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration)
• Comparing disease progression over time.
• Clinical decision-making.
• Teaching and training of medical staff and students.
• Research and publications.
• Medico-legal documentation

Common techniques and equipment

Ophthalmic photographers use specialised equipment such as:
• Fundus cameras: These cameras are used photograph the retina. These can be other narrow field focusing on the central area of the fovea and macula or wide field taking in the peripheral retina.
• Slit-lamp cameras: For detailed anterior segment imaging.
• OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography): For cross-sectional retinal imaging.
• OCT – Anterior Segment: For imaging the clear cornea and its complicated structures.
• OCT- Angiography: Used to create a digital angiogram of the retinal circulation.
• Specular microscopes & confocal microscopes: Used to image the structures of the epithelium to endothelium in the anterior chamber.
• Fluorescein angiography and ICG angiography: To image retinal blood flow and identify conditions such as Age Related Macular Degeneration and Diabetic Retinopathy.
• High-resolution still and video cameras – for surgical documentation.

If you wish to learn more about ophthalmic photography and these diagnostic tests, please visit: https://www.opsweb.org/

Who performs it:

Ophthalmic photography in the Royal Victoria Eye & Ear is carried out by trained clinical photographers who understand:
• Eye anatomy and pathology.
• Infection control and patient safety.
• Consent and data protection.
• Accurate clinical documentation.

To learn more about the most common tests carried out in our eye department click the following links below:
• What is an OCT scan?
• What is a fundal photograph?
• What is a Fluorescein Angiography (FA)?
• What is a indocyanine Green Angiography (ICG)?
• What is a corneal photograph?

How to contact:

If you wish to contact the photographic department for any services please email our senior clinical photographer: stephen.comiskey@rveeh.ie

Opening hours:

Monday – Thursday 08:00 – 17:30
Friday 08:00 – 16:00.

Telephone Number

01 664 4600