Remarkable Technology
We utilize remarkable technology in our office to help provide up to date eyecare for you and your family. We find it easier for patients to understand their visual condition if they have a working idea of the equipment we use and why we use it. Below, you will find an overview of some of the technology we use in the course of your comprehensive eye examination. We would be happy to explain in further detail any of the following technology, so just make a note of any questions before your next visit.
Autorefractor
The autorefractor shines a light into the eye and measures how the light reflects back. It then analyzes this data and determines the patient's theoretical distance spectacle prescription. It can tell whether a patient has myopia, hyperopia and or astigmatism. The advantage to this technology is it allows the doctor to have information about the patient's prescription independant of the patients responses. This is extremely useful on patients that cannot speak or communicate well. It is an excellent tool for young children as it can give accurate results on which to base a spectacle prescription. When combined with the patient's subjective refraction which utilizes the phoropter (below) the prescription is even further refined. For a sample of an autorefractor printout click here.
Corneal Topographer
The Corneal Topographer (which is combined with the autorefractor) is an instrument that maps out the shape of the cornea (see above image). It is vital to know what the shape of the cornea is for such things as astigmatism, contact lens fittings, laser surgery and some corneal eye diseases. The instrument will print out a computerized corneal map that illustrates the various curvatures of the eye. For a sample of a corneal topographic map click here.
Tonometer
- NCT: Non-Contact Tonometer: Often referred to as the "air puff test", the Non-Contact Tonometer measures the patient's intraocular (inside) eye pressures. This is very important for baseline and for the detection of glaucoma. The NCT allows us to measure the pressure of the inside of the eye without actually touching the eye (hence the air puff). Since the air is a constant pressure, the tonometer measures how quickly the cornea flattens from the puff of air. It measures how fast the cornea changes shape to a predetermined point and then based on normative data gives a numerical value of the patient's intraocular pressure. The NCT is an excellent screening tonometer but if a patient has glaucoma or is a suspect then the Goldmann tonometer will typically be used (see below).
- Goldmann Tonometer: The Goldmann Tonometer is the standard in eyecare when it comes to measuring eye pressures. It utilizes technology that measures the resistance that the cornea has when pressure is applied to it. The Doctor has to use an anesthetic eye drop on the patient and a light yellow dye called flurosceine which is activated during the test by a blue light. The test is done when the patient is sitting at the biomicroscope and there is no feeling to the test other than seeing the blue light.
Dilated & Non-Dilated Retinal Camera
The Retinal Camera is a professional grade digital Canon camera that takes photographs of the inside of the eye, specifically the back of the eye called the retina. The camera can also be used to take pictures of the front of the eye for documentation. The advantage of this specific camera technology is that it can take excellent photos of the retina even if the patient's eyes have not been dilated. We have utilized this technology since 2003 and routinely use it for baseline documentation and comparative data for glaucoma and other eye diseases. It has been an excellent diagnostic tool as we can take photos of the patients retina and compare it to photos from 2003 (assuming we saw the patient then) and check for any changes over time. For an example of a retinal photo taken without dilating the patient click here.
Visual Field Analyzer
The Visual Field Analyzer is remarkable technology in that it not only tests your peripheral vision it also compares your results to those of the same age and will give the Doctor a statistical analysis of the data. In basic terms the test involves the patient looking into a bowl shaped machine which randomly projects flashes of light in differnt areas of your periphery and when you see the light you press a button. The computer driven analyzer can be set to determine the actual lowest levels of light you can see in different areas of your vision. This diagnostic test is excellent for baseline information and in screening for glaucoma and some neurological disorders. It can be used also for charting the progress of diseases such as glaucoma and to determine if there are changes over time in the optic nerve function. For a sample of a visual fields analyzer print out click here.
Phoropter
The phoropter is a sophisticated instrument that holds spectacle lens that can be combined in many different ways to determine a patient's spectacle prescription. The patient looks through the phoropter at an eye chart either 20 feet away or 16 inches (for near) and the patient is given options of which lens is most appropritae. When utilized in conjunction with the autorefractor above it helps refine the patient prescription. The testing done throught the phoropetr is the typical time most patients remember where the Doctor is asking "Which is better? One or two?".
Ophthalmometer
An Opthalmometer is sometimes referred to as a Keratometer (though they are slightly different). In basic terms is measures the front of the cornea to determine the average shape at two different locations. When used correctly it measures the maximum curvature and the minimum curvature of the eye and their respective orientations. This is useful on contact lens fitting as it helps determine the shape and curvature of lens to use. It is similair to the topographer above except the ophthalmometer basically gives the average values only.Ophthalmoscope
- Binocular Indirect Ophthalmoscope- BIO: The Binocular Indirect Ophthalmoscope is used to look at the inside of the eye (after the patient has had their pupils dilated). The advantage to this technique over the direct ophthalmoscope (below) is that the Doctor is able to use both eyes when viewing the inside of the eye which give him depth perception.
- Direct Ophthalmoscope: The Direct Opthalmoscope is used to look inside the patient's eye similair to the BIO above. The main difference is that with the Direct Opthalmoscope the Doctor is using only one eye to view with so he cannot detech depth perception with it. The advantage though is it gives biggere magnification than the BIO and can be used on a non-dilated patient (one with small pupils).
Retinoscope
The Retinoscope is an instrument that is utilized by the Doctor to help determine your spectacle prescription at the distance without having to get input from the patient. It is a objective test that when combined with the subjective testing (see Phoropter above) it allows us to achieve a better endpoint for your prescription. In very basic terms it shines a light into the patients eye and the Doctor sees the reflected light coming back and neutralizes the reflection with lenses (typically using the phoropter). The value of lenses necessary to neutralize the reflected light then correlates with the patients distance prescription.Biomicroscope
The Biomicroscope is sometimes referred to as a "slit-lamp" because in normal operations it creats a "slit" of light that is used to focus on the front part of the eye. The Doctor looks through magnifying lenses (hence microscope) and examines the anterior portions of the eye, including the cornea, Iris and the front portion of the lens. This instrument is excellent for evaluating the anterior portion of the eye for eye diseases and for determing the fit of contact lenses.
Pupilometer
The pupilometer is a device that allows us to very accurately measure the distance between the centers of the eye. This is critical in the fitting of bifocals and progressive lenses as they must be aligned perfectly with the center of the pupil.
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Dr. Daniel L. Mason, Optometrist
(619)267-9900