Decisions, decisions.

On entering optometry, I knew that I'd be shelling out big bucks buying equipment that I can barely pronounce. I evaded the lens kit selection process because I ordered one through a connection, but now that diagnostic kits need to be bought, I have to get my feet in the water and start actually choosing products on my own. It's hard to choose equipment that we have barely even learned to use. I don't even really know what to look for! People say to just go for whatever feels good, but you'd get used to whatever you owned anyway. There are so many things to consider: handles, lenses, batteries, warranty, customer service, to name a few.
So here is the breakdown, more for my sake than anyone else's:

Welch-Allyn They did the first presentation, and impressed us all with the plastic-resin handles that come with a sleeve to plug directly into a socket. The feel of the o-scope is good, maybe because I'm the most used to it and got to try it out in anatomy lab. The ret seemed hard to turn though, I'm not sure if it was just that particular one that was on display. Welch-Allyn also offers the patented PanOptic, which is a fun novelty for getting a larger view of the retina but not really necessary. And after seeing the other two companies, this one just looks a little bit cheaper than the others. It's the leader in medical diagnostic equipment but I'm not sure if they specialize in optical/ophthalmic instruments.

Keeler This is a British manufacturer that supposedly has perfect optics. The guy who did the presentation brought us donuts and muffins from Tim Horton's when he was supposed to be bringing us dinner. Anyway, that shouldn't be relevant to the decision at hand. The Keeler handles felt just a little bit too long to be comfortable, although they have nice rubber grips that come in an assortment of colours. My friends and I then got into an animated discussion about whether it'd be unprofessional to have pink handles.

Heine (pronounched high-nah, not heiney) This is a German company, and offers also the most expensive set. You have the option of purchasing skinny or fat handles (or one of each), but the skinny handle uses a nickel-metal-hydride battery and has only 45-min of on-time, and the fat lithium handles seem a little bit too fat. However Heine (and Keeler) have the option of being powered by batteries (AA or C) in case you run out of battery or want to do missions where you might not be able to charge [easily].



So there's a glimpse into ophthalmic instruments for you. I'll have my mind made by the next post.