The Eye Center At Rush

Most outpatient clinical activities occur in the Joseph and Helen Regenstein Eye Center of Rush University Medical Center, located on the 9th floor of the Rush Professional Building. In December 2004, the Eye Center began a major 4.5 million dollar expansion thanks to the continued generosity of the Regenstein Foundation. The expansion has more than doubled the department space – creating a state-of-the-art clinical, research and residency training facility, unparalleled in any other program.

Resident Exam Facilities
Each resident is assigned an examination lane that is equipped with all examination instruments, including an indirect ophthalmoscope. Residents are required to purchase only their hand held lenses. For easy interaction with staff, the lanes are clustered around the attending lane and office. A resident resource room allows retrieval of labs and digital images, as well as provides a space for private teaching and colleague consultation. Teaching scopes and video indirects enhance the teaching experience.

Complete Digital Access
A new digital server system allows integration of all diagnostic images, including fluorescein and ICG angiography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), visual fields, ultrasonography, GDX nerve fiber analysis, corneal topography and wavefront analysis, specular microscopy and electrophysiology. Each resident exam room outfitted with a computer terminal allows access to all patient images, which can be displayed for patients and family members, enhancing the clinical teaching to the patient. A separate viewing room in the attending office allows conference and reading of images with attendings.

Patient Education Suites
Two patient education suites allow patients and their families to watch educational videos about diseases and upcoming surgical procedures, such as intraocular surgery, refractive surgery and cosmetic oculoplastic procedures. If desired, families can also sit in the suite and view the refractive procedures as they are performed on their family members. Resident and technician staff members may use a variety of teaching models.

Outpatient Treatments
Dedicated rooms within the center provide the latest treatment equipment, including a three-color thermal laser, laser indirect ophthalmoscope, YAG laser, selective laser trabeculoplasty and photodynamic therapy laser. A newly remodeled minor operating room allows minor lid and external procedures with an operating microscope.

Resident Education Offices
Each resident has an office carrel with LAN and internet hookup. A nearby conference room and lounge is dedicated for the resident staff, and can be used for small meetings, lectures or just relaxation. The conference room is equipped with complete audio/visual facilities. A kitchenette is also contained within the education suite. A powerful graphics workstation is available to residents, allowing them to produce PowerPoint presentations, with links into the digital image server, Medline, and the internet. The main eye center waiting room displays photos of all faculty and residents.

Surgical Education and Virtual Reality Simulator Laboratory
Alcon Surgical has provided a generous $250,000 grant to create a one-of-a-kind surgical education laboratory. The lab houses an amazing surgical simulator, allowing both cataract surgery and retinal surgery in a virtual reality world. Residents and medical students can practice a variety of ophthalmic procedures without fear of harming the "virtual patient." A separate practice surgery table and microscope allow surgery and suturing practice on eye band and animal eyes, all while video recording the procedure both externally and within the eye. The room also contains a professional AVID video editing suite, run by a department A/V specialist who assists in producing broadcast quality video presentations. No other university program has such a high-tech facility for surgical education.

Conference Theatre and Library
The jewel of the expansion project is the new conference facility, which is outfitted with truly amazing A/V equipment. The theatre allows interactive PowerPoint presentations linked to telecommunication abilities, and live links to the two eye operating rooms in the main hospital, the excimer laser suite, and a live patient exam room. The adjacent media exam room provides video cameras on the indirect ophthalmoscope, slit lamp and external to allow viewing within the theatre. All activities held in the room, including live surgery, can be recorded digitally and packaged to remain on a special media server, as well as to go real time on the internet for internet CME courses. Telecommunications can link speakers in other cities. Resident lectures can be recorded, including all PowerPoint slides, videos, and the face and voice of the lecturer for later viewing (e.g. if a resident is absent or on vacation).

Research Center
A new clinical research center houses all clinical research activities, including NIH and FDA programs and the Artificial Retinal Implant program, along with the clinical coordinators’ and staff offices.

Art Deco Movie Motif
The interior of the Eye Center resembles an art deco movie theatre. More than 250 large movie posters, from the silent era to the present, are framed throughout the new facility, and each movie title has the word "eye" in the title. Neon wall sconces, deco furniture, and movie memorabilia with "eye" themes are also displayed. The elevator lobby entrance to the eye center has the look of a grand deco office building. Our goal is to create an environment that sets patients at ease and makes them smile.

Rush is a great place to be an ophthalmologist. It is an even better place to train!