Opening a new practice means making every equipment dollar count. The right diagnostic technology generates billable procedures from day one — turning capital expenses into revenue while building the clinical foundation your practice needs for long-term growth.
New practices face a unique constraint: limited capital and unlimited potential. The equipment you choose in your first year determines which procedures you can bill, the clinical capability you offer patients, and your return on investment for years to come. Equipment that sits idle is a liability. Equipment that generates billable codes from day one is an asset.
The good news is that you do not need everything at once. A focused equipment strategy built around high-ROI devices lets you start generating revenue immediately while leaving room to scale as patient volume grows. The packages below represent the combinations Carolina Optics sees working best for cold start practices at different budget levels — each one designed to maximize billable procedures relative to the investment.
Equipment Packages
Four proven equipment combinations for new practices — from lean essentials to a complete diagnostic suite. Each package is designed to generate billable procedures from day one.
Ideal for comprehensive optometry and ophthalmology cold starts. The DRSplus delivers push-button automated retinal imaging for fundus documentation and billing, the Firefly adds anterior segment imaging with built-in meibography and dry eye diagnostics, and Surgenex provides immediate revenue from amniotic biologics. A solid diagnostic foundation that covers the most common billable imaging procedures without overextending your first-year budget.
A great option for medically focused comprehensive care. The COMPASS delivers both retinal imaging and visual field testing in a single instrument — letting you bill for fundus photography, perimetry, and anterior segment documentation from day one. The COMPASS’s fundus-guided perimetry with real-time retinal tracking is a visual field solution you will use for the life of your practice, not a stepping stone. Add Firefly for anterior segment billing and Surgenex for immediate biologic revenue.
The most selected cold start package. The EIDON UWF provides 200-degree ultra-widefield TrueColor retinal imaging that will anchor your diagnostic suite for many years to come. The M&S VR Headset adds visual field billing at a fraction of traditional perimetry cost — no dedicated dark room required. Firefly covers anterior segment documentation and dry eye workups, and Surgenex drives biologic revenue. This combination covers the four highest-value billable diagnostic categories for a new practice.
Everything in the moderate package plus the Visionix Solix OCT and OCTA platform. Adding OCT gives your practice cross-sectional imaging for glaucoma management, macular disease evaluation, and anterior segment analysis — the complete diagnostic suite from opening day. This is the investment that positions a cold start to handle any diagnostic scenario from the beginning, with every major billable imaging category covered.
Budget-Friendly Alternative
For cold starts with tighter capital constraints, Carolina Optics maintains a full line of certified pre-owned equipment for retinal imaging, OCT, and visual fields. Pre-owned equipment lets you start billing for diagnostic procedures immediately at a significantly lower upfront cost. Talk to our team about current availability and pricing — there is an option for every budget.
Ask About Used Equipment →Complete Office Buildout
Beyond diagnostics, Carolina Optics provides everything needed to build out complete exam lanes for any of these packages — including chairs, phoropters, and extensive pre-test equipment. Whether you need one lane or four, your entire office buildout comes through a single point of contact with coordinated delivery, installation, and training.
View Exam Lane Equipment →Opening a new practice is complex enough without juggling multiple equipment vendors, separate installations, and disconnected support channels. Working with Carolina Optics simplifies the equipment side of your cold start.
Tell us about your new practice and we’ll help you design an equipment package that fits your budget, your clinical goals, and your opening timeline.