I do a reasonable number of eye ultrasounds.
The most common reason is a dense cataract or vitreous haemorrhage where the ophthalmoscope can not see the retina.
We are in essence a replacement for the ophthalmoscope when the ophthalmoscope can not see the retina.
There is no point in replacing a cataract for example if there is a retinal detachment present.
The second reason is to gain more details about a mass.
The ophthalmoscope is 2 dimensional so you can not tell for example if something is a nevis or a mass. The ultrasound can tell the height of the mass as well as saying if it is cystic or solid and if there is vascularity.
All good information.
They are the main 2 reasons we are asked to do the scans.
I think eye ultrasound is technically really easy but the interpretation of the images is really difficult!
Steve.