Imaging the Future

The annual Haag-Streit Slit Lamp Imaging Competition has announced its official 2024 winners.

Now in its sixth year, the competition draws entries from practicing eye care professionals from all around the world.

The winning images – scored on image quality, technical execution, and disease interest – were selected by a panel of four judges: Marc Curchod, a retired professional photographer who worked previously at the Jules Gonin Ophthalmic Hospital in Lausanne; Jesús Conejero, an ophthalmologist at the Hospital de Mérida, Spain; Frank Wenger, Head of Product Management for Haag-Streit’s General Diagnostics division; and Jacqui Kenyon, Product and Market Manager for Reliance and Haag Streit Diagnostics (USA).

In response to this year’s submissions, Frank Wenger commented: “We are delighted to see the global community of ophthalmic imaging enthusiasts come together once again to demonstrate the artistic possibilities of the slit lamp. We thank all this year’s entrants for their efforts and extend our warm congratulations to our winners. Keep up the great work!”

Below, we share the top three winning images.

First place:

Utpal Sarkar, from Disha Eye Hospitals, India, was the competition’s overall winner of the imaging category. The image, taken on the BX 900 slit lamp, displays an iris cyst in vitreous cavity.

Second place:

Marc Müller, of Saarland University Eye Clinic, Germany, takes second place, with an image that shows conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia with secondary vascularized pannus.

Third place:

Seraina Tanno, from Lucerne Cantonal Hospital, Switzerland, achieved third place, with an image of an iris defect – aniridia lens.

If you feel inspired by these images, why not enter next year’s competition? It re-opens in spring 2025, and you can keep updated with the details by following Haag-Streit’s various social media channels.

And if you are considering entering the 2025 competition, it’s worth bearing this advice from juror Marc Curchod in mind: “Be demanding of yourself, look for the best framing, and think that each photo is publishable.”