Glaucoma

Screening and Testing

Glaucoma Detection: Screening and Diagnosis at Washington Eye Physicians & Surgeons

Early detection, through regular and complete eye exams, is the key to protecting your vision from damage caused by glaucoma. A complete eye exam includes various tests to accurately diagnose glaucoma. Please see the details on glaucoma screening and testing below to get an idea of the thorough diagnostic process at Washington Eye Physicians & Surgeons. It is important to have your eyes examined regularly even if you do not have symptoms of glaucoma.

 

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Screening & Diagnosis

To get a better understanding of the equipment used in our glaucoma screening and diagnosis process, please read about the following diagnostic tests.

Glaucoma is referred to as the thief of sight and can be present without a patient even knowing. As the nerve fibers in the optic nerve are damaged in glaucoma, there is a gradual and painless loss of vision. Patients may not notice vision loss until they have more advanced stages of glaucoma. The term visual field refers to the area of a scene you can see with your eyes fixed on one location. For example, while watching a stop light, you may notice a car pulling up beside you in the next lane. Your peripheral vision enables you to see the movement of the car. The visual field is quite extensive when both eyes are working properly but with glaucoma, the field of view is reduced.

A visual field test measures two things:

  • How far up, down, left and right the eye sees without moving.
  • How sensitive the vision is in different parts of the visual field.

This device has the ability to capture images of eye tissue at a near individual cell level of resolution. In addition, it can show each layer of tissue in the eye allowing our glaucoma eye specialists to pinpoint the exact location of tissue damage. This sophisticated piece of equipment aids in the diagnosis and management of many ocular conditions, including glaucoma and macular degeneration. HD-OCT is a safe, painless and quick procedure that does not require dilation of the pupils. A laser scans the retina, optic nerve, cornea, or anterior chamber in just a manner of seconds to provide our glaucoma doctors with detailed information regarding the microscopic details of the eye. Anyone who has glaucoma or is a glaucoma suspect would benefit from undergoing this diagnostic test.

Glaucoma Test - High-Definition Optical Coherence Tomography for Glaucoma Testing

Pachymetry is the measurement of the thickness of the cornea, (the clear window on the front of the eye).

When the cornea is thinner than average, patients have an increased risk of developing glaucoma. When the cornea is thicker than average, patients have a reduced risk of developing glaucoma. Pachymetry should be performed at least once in a glaucoma patient’s adult life.

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