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The LASIK Directory Blog

Welcome to the LASIK Blog, a resource for people interested in LASIK surgery. This consumer-friendly blog is intended to be used as a central resource to answer common questions about LASIK and to point you in the right direction.

Friday, March 04, 2011

At-Home Glaucoma Tests: Do They Work?

Recently, there has been a great deal of media surrounding the possibility of at-home glaucoma tests. But, are they FDA-approved, do they actually work, and what can they actually tell you?

Although a number of websites proclaim that the online glaucoma test offered by Peristat Group is FDA approved, but in truth it is only FDA-cleared, which constitutes a much less rigorous evaluation of the technology, largely to assess whether the device is "substantially equivalent" to an already-existing technology. In this case, the pre-existing technology is a similar form of glaucoma test used in doctor's offices.

As far as whether it works or not, clinical research has shown that the test is about 90% accurate when compared to similar tests performed in doctor's offices. This is a pretty good level of accuracy considering it is a test you can take at home using just your computer and paying only $29.95 per evaluation (with a possible discount for signing up a for a year's worth of evaluations), much less than the cost of going to the doctor's office.

But what can an online glaucoma test actually tell you? The test works by having you focus on a white dot at the center of the screen while stimuli dots flash all around. These stimuli dots are at a certain contrast setting and appear in pre-set locations to test the status of your optic nerve. The results of the test are then reviewed by perimetry specialists and the results are emailed to you. You may be referred to a follow-up with your ophthalmologist.

The good news is that the test can actually identify damage to the optic nerve that is occurring as a result of glaucoma. Since glaucoma slowly erodes your vision from the periphery toward the center, you may not be aware of vision loss until your visual field is significantly restricted, while this test can tell you if your vision is being affected long before you become aware of vision loss.

Unfortunately, what this test cannot tell you is whether you are suffering some of the predecessor conditions to glaucoma, such as elevated intraocular pressure or related conditions. It cannot detect these conditions before optic nerve damage occurs, only tell you that the damage has occurred.

To prevent optic nerve damage from glaucoma, you need to schedule regular vision evaluations with your ophthalmologist. At-home glaucoma tests can serve as back-up or supplementary tests, but they cannot replace full glaucoma screenings in the office. Please contact us today to find a local ophthalmologist who can help protect your vision from loss due to glaucoma.

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