Eureka!: Small Wonders

The eye inside

An image of the fundus, or the back of the eye.

By Charlotte Hsu

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Two UB ophthalmologists have been testing new ways to photograph something most of us have never seen: the fundus, or the back of the eye. Jiaxi Ding and Matthew Pihlblad snapped this image using a device called the iExaminer. The researchers showed that the handheld tool—which marries an iPhone to a lighted eye-exam instrument—is useful for capturing eye problems in patients who have a hard time sitting upright, as conventional fundus cameras require. The premature newborn whose fundus you see here is a perfect example.