Technology: Far from the madding crowd phenomenon

One long-term, though perhaps unrealistic, goal of mine has been to reduce the size of a domiciliary kit down from what used to seem to be a couple of wardrobes on wheels to a smartphone and a tablet. The advent of some excellent apps, better networking and higher resolution digital screens have all helped make this goal more achievable. And the introduction of the new Thomson Near Chart 2020 is another big step forward.

Designed in a way that allows a range of near charts to be shown to a patient on a single, hand-held device, the Thomson Near Chart should mean the end of dog-eared, yellowing near charts scattered around practices and, instead, allow the benefits of accurately calibrated and stable contrast targets to be available in each consulting room and controlled by the clinician from their regular practice computer.