Slit Lamp Biomicroscopy

Slit lamp biomicroscopy (SLB) is an examination technique used when adequate retinal examination cannot be obtained using digital photography.

There are several reasons why a patient may get a non-assessable result from the digital screening examination, one example is that the lens of the eye can get too cloudy to see the back of the eye; this may be because of a cataract. 

Please tell us if you have had cataracts removed recently or are going to have cataracts removed soon. This may enable us to get a clear view of your eyes using digital photography again.

There are six screening sites that offer slit lamp examination.

Click here for a list of available screening sites that offer the slit lamp examination. 

A slit lamp has 2 parts – a very bright source of light shone through a slit and a microscope. It allows us to look at the individual parts of the eye in detail, in particular the retina at the back of the eye.

This will show whether there are any changes that may have been caused by diabetic retinopathy.

If you have no changes (or mild diabetic changes) and we are still unlikely to get clear photographs of the back of your eyes we will invite you to make another slit lamp appointment in 12 months’ time.

If there are signs of serious changes we will refer you to a specialist eye doctor at Arrowe Park Hospital.

For more information see: Diabetic eye screening: slit lamp examination explained