An ultrasound examination of the eye is required to diagnose changes inside the eye when a clouded lens (cataract) or bleeding (e.g., vitreous hemorrhage) prevents a view into the interior of the eye. For example, to rule out retinal changes, retinal detachment and bleeding into the vitreous and under the retina, as well as tumors inside the eye prior to surgery, an ultrasound examination is indispensable when assessment using optical methods is not possible. Assessing the course and the need for treatment of these changes, as well as follow-up monitoring of tumor diseases after treatment, also requires regular ultrasound checks. Ultrasound is also used to assess the tissue behind the eye (in the orbit), such as muscle thickness in the context of thyroid disease. Changes of the optic nerve head and the course of the optic nerve within the orbit are also visualized by ultrasound. In many cases, this can avoid a CT scan and the associated radiation exposure, e.g., when evaluating optic disc drusen, especially in children.
UBM / ultrasound biomicroscopy is used for high-resolution imaging of sections of the anterior segment of the eye that cannot be viewed directly (e.g., the back of the iris), as well as for imaging the chamber angle (glaucoma diagnostics), especially in cases of corneal opacity when imaging with OCT is not possible.
