Reggio Emilia, Assit Group donates equipment for uveitis diagnosis and follow-up

The Departmental Structure of Ocular Immunology of the Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova in Reggio Emilia can count on a new biomedical device donated by Assist Group, a company active in marketing and technological innovation with deep roots in the Emilia region. The new instrument, a Spectralis Oct2 Compact system with angiotomography module (Octa) - a note informs - represents a significant technological advancement in the timely diagnosis and follow-up of uveitis, inflammatory diseases of the eye that, if not treated early, can seriously compromise the eyesight of patients. The donation will allow the facility directed by Luca Cimino to offer even more timely and effective treatments, concretely improving the quality of assistance offered to those who need it most.

"We are proud to be able to put innovation at the service of public health - says Gianni Prandi, founder of Assist Group - We believe in an idea of ​​humanistic entrepreneurship that puts people at the center of every initiative. With this spirit, we are proud to provide our contribution to the community, supporting those who are most fragile and those who every day, in public health, work with passion and competence to take care of others".

The Emilian facility has one bed available for ordinary hospitalization and one for Day Hospital. In thanking Prandi and the group for the donation, the general director of the Ausl Irccs of Reggio Emilia, Davide Fornaciari, highlights that "the technology will ensure a substantial contribution to the speed and accuracy of diagnoses and will strongly support the care for many patients. The generosity of our entrepreneurial and social fabric - he continues - encourages us to continue the path undertaken for a public health system of excellence that is able to meet the important challenges that await us in terms of innovation of care".

Uveitis is an inflammatory eye disease whose incidence is difficult to estimate, which is often a sign of other pathologies, such as infections or rheumatic diseases. It mainly affects adults between 20 and 50 years of age, in full working age. Although it is considered a rare disease, it can cause blindness in 10-15% of cases. The Ocular Immunology Clinic of Santa Maria Nuova receives 4-5 new cases every day, in the majority of cases coming from the Emilia Romagna Region (57%), but with a high attraction also from other regions, since the uveitis center of Reggio Emilia represents a reference at a national level.

These pathologies can be associated with systemic diseases, which do not even spare children - as in the cases of juvenile idiopathic arthritis - or with infections, such as herpes, syphilis, tuberculosis and cytomegalovirus. The latter are uveitis for which it is possible to trace the cause thanks to the sampling of ocular fluids and the search for pathogenic agents. There are also pathologies that closely resemble uveitis, such as ocular lymphomas, in which the diagnosis is essential not only to save the sight, but for the survival of the patient.

OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) is a non-invasive imaging technique that is essential in the management of uveitis, as it allows a detailed evaluation of the retinal structures and the accurate study of the optic nerve. It is used to visualize and quantify the presence of macular edema or optic disc, one of the most common complications of uveitis. It also allows monitoring the response to pharmacological treatment, evaluating the anatomical changes of the retina and optic nerve during therapy with corticosteroids, immunosuppressants or biological drugs. The test is also very useful in pediatric or uncooperative patients because it allows obtaining high-resolution images of the retina and optic nerve quickly, non-invasively and without direct contact with the eye.