Eye Care Technology Routinely used During an Eye Care Examination
Auto Refractor – This machine can give an objective measurement of the patient’s prescription, they then compare this measurement with a subjective measurement taken in the examination room. This gives the Optometrist a good starting point.
Blood Flow Analyzer – This machine measure blood supply to the back of the eye. We do now know, that a decreased in blood supply in the back of the eye can be responsible for vision loss.
Eye Cam – Originally developed for hospital use to look at the retina of a baby. This hand held camera can be used to monitor different areas of the eye. It is very easy on the patient, fast and great for establishing records for the patient.
Non-Contact Tonometer – Used to measure the pressure inside the eye, you can measure the pressure simply with a puff of air. One great benefit of this machine, when measuring the pressure inside the eye you can detect the possibility of glaucoma.
Screening OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) – This allows us look underneath the retina like a CT (computed tomography)
Scan. So this can be used to get a CT Scan, which is a cross section of the retina. Also used to monitor and detect glaucoma, macular degeneration, or freckles/moles on the retina. With this technology they can detect change very accurately over time. These machines can evaluate all ten layers of the retina, early detection of problems is always beneficial, especially with sight threatening problems.
You can also use the OCT to evaluate the integrity of corneal tissue. The machine can be used for a procedure called Anterior OCT, which can give you more information about corneal health.
Optomap-Digital Imaging– Allows us to capture an image of the surface of the retina. We can evaluate the optic nerve and the blood vessels of the retinal surface. Also looking at the retinal surface they can take a look and determine if there is any disease or degeneration that is taking place. This allows a permanent record that can be compared over time.
Preferential Hyper Perimetry – This technology is used to monitor changes in vision for a patient to have macular degeneration or other macular problems. With this technology they can pick up on changes before the patient is even aware of any vision loss.
Topography (Maps the Cornea) – It measures the contours, the peaks and valleys of the cornea. They use this routinely for contact lens fitting as well as lasik patients.
Visual Field Test – This Instruments measures peripheral, when looking into this instrument, what is seen are visual stimuli in different areas of the periphery. This allows them to see if there is any defect in the peripheral vision, often times they can pick up disease or degeneration before the patient is aware of it.
Eye Health and Your Vision Center
The great thing about optometric centers with these machines is that they can show the patient the results of all of these tests. They can show patients what they see when looking inside the eye, where in the past the technology was not available. This helps deliver better care and inform the patient as to what may be going on, along with prognoses or treatment method that might be indicated.