Is your ophthalmology equipment performing at its best?
You’ve invested in high-quality diagnostic tools – slit lamps, OCT machines, fundus cameras, and retinal imaging machines. However, if patient positioning is inconsistent, or if you find yourself adjusting to poor working posture, you and your ophthalmology equipment may not be reaching full potential.
A specialised chair for eye exam equipment helps ensure accurate, repeatable results by enabling fast, stable, and ergonomic patient alignment. Without it, even the most advanced ophthalmology tools can underperform.
Why workstation ergonomics matter in ophthalmology
Clinical precision and practitioner wellbeing may seem like separate goals – but in practice, they rely on the same thing: a properly configured workstation.
If a practitioner cannot achieve and maintain an ergonomic posture, scan alignment may suffer, scan quality may drop, and procedures may take longer. Tasks such as camera adjustment and image capture rely on fine motor control of the hands and thumbs, which is only sustainable when the operator’s posture is balanced and stable. Poor ergonomic support can limit range of motion, increase physical strain and compromise motor function, dexterity and grip strength – reducing the precision needed to obtain consistent, high-quality results (Brett and Kelly 2023; Mather 2024).
Similarly, if the patient is poorly positioned, even the best ophthalmic devices cannot compensate for motion artefacts or awkward access.
The hidden cost of poor posture in ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is among the medical specialties most affected by work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs). Studies have shown that up to 66% of ophthalmologists experience musculoskeletal pain, most often in the neck and back, with 14% planning early retirement as a result (Schechet et al. 2020). The main risk factors? Extended static posture, awkward positioning at fixed machines, and non-adjustable workstations (Schall et al. 2014; Brett and Kelly 2023).
Beyond individual health, these injuries lead to increased sick leave, reduced productivity, and higher organisational costs (Mather 2024; Schall et al. 2014). It even drives professionals away from the field forcing them into early retirement.
What defines an ergonomic workstation?
Ergonomic design is not simply a comfort feature to avoid pain – it is essential to precision and clinical performance (Brett and Kelly 2023, Mather 2024; Schechet et al. 2020).
In Denmark, the Working Environment Authority highlights that ergonomically sound setups – especially for seated tasks – should support a neutral posture. However, even the best-designed workstations must allow for dynamic use and individual adjustment variations. Static posture—however well aligned—places strain on muscles, tendons and joints. For ophthalmic workstations, this means enabling clinicians to vary their posture throughout the day and ensuring that ophthalmic equipment and furniture can be easily adjusted for different users and tasks (Danish Working Environment Authority 2008). The ophthalmic patient chair plays a key role in this. When the patient can be adjusted independently of the table or diagnostic device, the practitioner is free to optimise their own posture. This allows clinicians to alternate between seated and semi-standing positions, shift their weight, or reposition their stool as needed throughout the day, reducing the cumulative strain of static work.
How to set up an ergonomic workstation in ophthalmology
Repetitive tasks involving fine, visually demanding movements are best carried out in a seated position with arm support and elevated work surfaces that keep the hands within the normal work zone—a range of motion close to the body where control and stability are maximised. Extending beyond this zone increases load on the neck, back, and shoulders, and should be minimised wherever possible (Danish Working Environment Authority 2008).
To achieve this, the workstation should be set up in the right order: first, adjust the table or device height to match the task – whether it’s a keratometer, autorefractor, or a slit lamp microscope. Then, set the clinician’s chair height to enable a neutral posture with supported arms; finally, position the patient using the ophthalmic chair. This sequence allows the practitioner to maintain ergonomic alignment without compromise.
Thus, an ergonomic workstation supports both postural health and clinical precision by allowing the practitioner to work comfortably and efficiently throughout the day. Key characteristics include:
- Adjustability: The clinician’s chair, diagnostic ophthalmic equipment, and patient chair should be easily adjustable to match different users and tasks. This includes height, angle, and reach – allowing clinicians to maintain optimal alignment across varying procedures.
- Neutral posture: The setup should support an upright spine, relaxed shoulders, and forearms that are either supported or comfortably close to the torso, keeping work within the normal reach zone to reduce muscular load.
- Dynamic use: The workstation should allow the operator to shift between sitting, standing, and semi-standing. Small variations in working posture help prevent fatigue, musculoskeletal strain, and long-term injury.
The clinician repeats precision tasks all day, so the workstation must prioritise their posture and workflow – not the patient’s.
The patient must fit the workstation – not the other way around
In ophthalmology, diagnostic equipment is fixed. That means the practitioner’s posture – not the patient’s – should come first. The clinician should begin by adjusting their own workstation: table position, microscope alignment and chair height. Once that setup is comfortable for the practitioner, each patient must be positioned to fit it upon arrival.
This is only possible with a patient chair that offers precise, smooth and intuitive adjustment. A good patient chair for ophthalmology clinics:
- Aligns the patient to the device quickly and safely
- Prevents clinician overreaching and bending
- Minimises posture vibration and involuntary patient movement
- Enables repeatable positioning across patients and sessions
With reduced practitioner strain and increased patient stability, the outcome is clear: better image quality, shorter exams, and less practitioner fatigue.
Extended performance – the patient chair for ophthalmic equipment
Even the most advanced ophthalmic technologies perform at their best only when both the clinician and the patient are correctly positioned. A high-quality patient chair extends the performance of:
- Slit lamps – by ensuring stable, repeatable head positioning
- OCT and other retinal imaging systems – by minimising movement and improving scan alignment
- Fundus cameras – by enabling quick and accurate adjustments
Studies comparing commonly used ophthalmic equipment show that differences in their physical configuration can significantly affect practitioner posture. When the equipment cannot be adjusted to fit the practitioner, greater demands are placed on the operator to compensate through body movement or repeated repositioning of the patient – leading to increased fatigue and reduced efficiency (Schall et al. 2014). Placing the patient on a stool, an office chair, or any similarly non-adjustable seat further limits the clinician’s ability to achieve an ergonomic working posture.
Even if the equipment remains fixed and ergonomically suboptimal, this disconnect can – at least partly – be addressed with an adjustable patient chair. It enables the operator to manage all aspects of patient positioning in an ergonomic way, adapting the patient to the fixed setup rather than the clinician to the equipment. This reduces time per examination, improves reproducibility, and supports high-quality outcomes – both diagnostically and physically. Most importantly, it allows the clinician to maintain the most ergonomic working posture possible mitigating the risk of developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders.
A bonus of this exact patient chair is that it also streamlines workflow by reducing or eliminating transfers between devices, since the chair can be adjusted to various ophthalmic devices and examination machines. The patient remains seated while the chair is adapted to each step of the examination process – saving time and improving both operator and patient experience.
VELA Chairs for ophthalmic equipment
Discover your next step
Whether you’re looking for a chair for slit lamp exams, a chair for OCT machines, or a versatile chair for ophthalmology equipment, an adjustable patient chair offers a purpose-built solution designed to:
- Reduce strain on practitioners
- Improve diagnostic outcomes
- Streamline clinical operations
Learn how to set up an ergonomic ophthalmology workstation with these 7 best practises in ophthalmology.
Explore how our chairs support your practice:
References
- Danish Working Environment Authority. 2008. Arbejdspladsens indretning og inventar. AT-vejledning A.1.15. Copenhagen: Arbejdstilsynet. https://at.dk/regler/at-vejledninger/arbejdspladsens-indretning-inventar-a-1-15/
- Fethke, Nathan B., Mark C. Schall, Emily M. Determan and Anna S. Kitzmann. 2015. “Neck and Shoulder Muscle Activity Among Ophthalmologists During Routine Clinical Examinations.” International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 49: 53–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2015.06.001.
- Mather, Rookaya. 2024. “Preventing Work-Related Musculoskeletal Injuries”. Canadian Eye Care Today 3 (3). Toronto, Canada:40–46. https://doi.org/10.58931/cect.2024.3351.
- Brett, Jonathan and Julie Kelly. 2023. An exploratory ergonomic evaluation of musculoskeletal risks for ophthalmic photographers who use ophthalmic imaging equipment plus user equipment trials, Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, 46(1): 1-13, DOI: 10.1080/17453054.2022.2142538
- Schall, Mark C., Nathan B. Fethke, Yue Chen, and Andrew S. Kitzmann. 2014. “A Comparison of Examination Equipment Used During Common Clinical Ophthalmologic Tasks”. IIE transactions on occupational ergonomics and human factors, 2(2): 105–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/21577323.2014.964812
- Schechet, Sidney A., Eva DeVience, Stephen DeVience, Shweta Shukla, and Mona Kaleem. 2020. “Survey of Musculoskeletal Disorders Among US Ophthalmologists.” Digital Journal of Ophthalmology 26: 33–45. https://doi.org/10.5693/djo.01.2020.02.001