As part of your annual eye exam, your doctor may perform some or all of these comprehensive tests, depending upon your individual needs:
Annidis RHA Multi-Spectral Imaging
This latest technology solution is a major advancement in retinal health management and a potentially significant tool for assisting eye-care professionals in the diagnosis and monitoring of sight-threatening eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
Takes cross-sectional pictures of the retina via a scanning laser. This technology is used to diagnose and follow treatment in certain eye conditions and diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.
Optomap Ultra-Widefield Retinal Imaging
Creates a digital image that captures more than 80% of your retina in one panoramic image. Helps detect early signs of retinal disease including age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.
Macular Pigment Density Test (MPOD)
Checks how much protective pigment is in the macula. A low amount of macular pigment increases the risk of age-related macular degeneration. Nutritional supplements like MacuHealth® can reduce this risk by restoring depleted levels of meso-zeaxanthin, zeaxanthin and lutein in your macula.
Slit Lamp Test
Allows your doctor a highly magnified view of your eye to thoroughly evaluate the front structures of your eye (lids, cornea, iris, etc.), followed by an examination of the inside of your eye (retina, optic nerve, macula and more). This test aids the doctor in the diagnosis of cataracts, dry eyes, corneal irritation, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration.
Extended Opthalmoscopy
Offers a wider view of the eye’s internal structures, including examination of the central and peripheral retina (thinning, holes, tears, diabetes-related side effects) by using eyedrops to enlarge your pupils.
Tonometry Test
A computer that measures the pressure inside of the eye to determine one of the risks for developing glaucoma. If the pressure is high, an additional diagnostic test may be used.
Visual Fields Test
Checks for the presence of blind spots in your peripheral, or “side”, vision. 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.
Lensometer Test
It is mainly used by optometrists and opticians to verify the correct prescription in a pair of eyeglasses, to properly orient and mark uncut lenses, and to confirm the correct mounting of lenses in spectacle frames. Lensometers can also verify the power of contact lenses, if a special lens support is used.
Visual Evoked Potential (VEP)
A VEP measures visual brain waves. This information is used to help understand how well the eye is sending its signals to the main visual portion of the brain. It is a very useful technology that determines how your eye communicates to your brain in a way that no other instrument or test can. This is crucial in determining if vision is developing normally, and in helping to determine what is wrong when there is visual difficulty.
Color Vision Test
Evaluates color deficiencies in the eyes (red/green or blue/yellow) by asking you to pick out numbers from colored mosaic-like illustrations. In addition to detecting hereditary color vision deficiencies, the results may also alert your doctor to possible eye-health problems that could affect your color vision.
Cover Test
Uses a paddle to cover one eye at a time to help evaluate eye muscles. Can catch tendency toward crossed eyes in children. Evaluates for any indications of eye strain, which could be the result of strabismus or amblyopia.
Visual Acuity Test
A standard eye chart that measures the sharpness of your vision. Evaluates how well your current glasses or contact lenses are working, and if you need an updated prescription.
Refraction Test
Fine tunes your eyeglass prescription along with other tests. The doctor places a phoropter (rotating lenses) in front of your eyes, which allows you to look through a series of lenses to determine which is clearest. The refraction determines your level of hyperopia (farsightedness), myopia (nearsightedness), presbyopia, astigmatism and can also be used for nearpoint and computer vision testing, as well as muscle balance tests.
Contact Lens Evaluation
Evaluates multiple elements including the shape of your eye, your vision correction needs and how often you will use the lenses. If you’ve never worn contact lenses, your eye-care professional will show you how to use your lenses and how to take care of them.
Pachymetry Test
Measures the thickness of the cornea. Conventional pachymeters use ultrasonic transducers that touch the cornea. Newer generations work by way of sound waves that capture an ultra-high definition echogram of the cornea. Corneal pachymetry is an important test in the early detection of glaucoma.
Stereopsis Test
Assesses depth perception and determines if eyes are working together. It is especially useful for identifying “lazy eyes” in children, which can be treated if identified while they are young.
Direct Opthalmoscope
An instrument used to inspect the fundus of the eye, which is the back portion of the interior eyeball. The optometrist looks for changes in the color (or pigment) of the fundus, changes in retinal blood vessels and any abnormalities in the macula lutea, the portion of the retina that receives and analyzes light only from the center of the visual field.
Indirect Opthalmoscope
An instrument designed to visualize the interior of the eye. The device is worn on the head at arm's length from the subject's eye and the observer views an inverted image through a convex lens located between the instrument and the subject's eye.