OCULAR DISEASE TESTING

Ocular Disease Testing:

Optomap Retinal Imaging: The optomap ultra-widefield retinal image is a unique technology that captures more than 80% of your retina in a single image while traditional imaging methods typically only show 15% of your retina at one time. Under normal circumstances, dilation drops might not be necessary, but your eye care practitioner will decide if your pupils need to be dilated depending on the health of your eyes.

Dilated Retinal Exam: To obtain a better view of the eye's internal structures, your eye doctor will instill dilating drops to enlarge your pupils which can take about 15-20 minutes to start working. Once dilated, your doctor will test your eyes for various eye diseases. When your pupils are dilated, you will be sensitive to light (because more light is getting into your eye) and you may notice difficulty focusing on objects up close. These effects can last for up to several hours, depending on the strength of the drop used.

Color vision testing is also performed in order to detect hereditary color vision deficiencies. It can also alert your eye doctor to possible eye health problems that may affect your color vision.

Glaucoma testing: measuring your eye pressure and assessing your optic nerve. A common glaucoma test is the "air-puff" test, technically known as non-contact tonometry, or NCT. In some cases, your eye doctor may want to check for the possible presence of blind spots (scotomas) in your peripheral or "side" vision by performing a visual field test. These types of blind spots can originate from eye diseases such as glaucoma. Analysis of blind spots also may help identify specific areas of brain damage caused by a stroke or tumor.

Specialist referrals: your eye doctor may recommend other, more specialized eye tests. Often, such tests are performed by other eye doctors, such as retinal specialists, on a referral basis.