It rarely happens that Stevie Wonder is referred to during an appointment at the Ulm Children’s Clinic. The American soul singer suffered from retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) after his birth. The insidious illness caused him to go blind.
“Stevie Wonder was a premature baby and only lost his eyesight because too little was known about the disease at the time,” says Harald Ehrhardt, section head of neonatal medicine at the Ulm Children’s Clinic.
Wide lens for precise photos
It’s been 74 years since Wonder’s birth and the disease ROP is still as dangerous as it was back then. And yet doctors today have completely different options for recognizing and treating ROP. One of the most important instruments for early detection is now being used in the Ulm children’s clinic: a modern retinal camera.
With a wide-angle lens, the camera can take precise photos of the retina. This used to be possible with an ophthalmoscope. However, the findings were only brief snapshots that were difficult to capture. Where there were no photos, the findings could not be discussed and discussed. The examinations were complex and often painful for the newborns.
Worried about old camera failing
The Ulm Children’s Hospital purchased its first retinal camera in 2013. Back then with a donation from the support association for children in need of intensive care in Ulm. But this camera is now outdated and the clinic cannot even get the necessary spare parts for it.
So the decision was made to buy a new camera, says club chairwoman Mathilde Maier. “My biggest concern was that the old camera would fail,” she says. She gave birth to a premature baby 40 years ago. At that time, the examination was obviously painful for the children because the eyeball had to be partially pressed in. She says she wants to spare children and parents this “horrible experience”.
That’s how much the camera cost
The association raised more than 150,000 euros to purchase the camera, a large part of which came from a donation from Radio7’s “Aktion Drachenkinder”. The camera equipment is currently far above the usual standard of other clinics, reports Maier. There are only around a dozen of the high-tech cameras in Germany.
In fact, the Ulm Children’s Clinic has now developed expertise in the treatment of premature babies throughout the region. The catchment area extends from Lake Constance to Stuttgart, Augsburg and Würzburg.
“When a child’s eyes meet you for the first time, it’s worth all the cost and effort.
Melih Parlak
Expertise known far beyond Ulm
Around 130 premature babies are treated at the Ulm Children’s Clinic every year, many of whom are under 26 weeks old. All of them will continue to receive an eye examination with the new retinal camera. But this could also be used in older children with retinal problems, explains Melih Parlak, senior ophthalmologist at the Ulm University Hospital.
Only ten percent of children who develop ROP become blind. Says the statistics. But Parlak explains that not a single child at the university clinic has gone blind in recent years. And then the senior doctor becomes emotional: “When you meet the eyes of a child for the first time, then it was worth all the costs and effort.”
