During a comprehensive eye examination, it is customary to measure eye pressure. This pressure is called intra-ocular pressure (I.O.P.). Many patients dread the air- puff tonometry test, and refer to it as a “glaucoma test”. This is technically not correct, since eye pressure is only one component of a glaucoma diagnosis. In fact, it is possible for a patient to have normal eye pressure, but still have glaucoma. Glaucoma is the (usually) slow death of the optic nerve fiber layer (N.F.L.) usually, but not always, caused by high pressure.
In glaucoma, as the nerve layer slowly dies, it becomes thinner. A scanning laser, such as the Zeiss GDX or the Zeiss OCT, can measure this N.F.L. thickness. These lasers also compare patient results to a data base of people with the patient’s same age and race. These units also perform statistical analysis, showing the doctor how significant a particular deviation in N.F.L. thickness is from a normative data base.
At Dr. Steven Lutz and Associates, we measure eye pressure with both air-puff tonometry and Goldmann aplanation tonometry. We also utilize a Zeiss GDX scanning laser to better help us diagnose and treat glaucoma.
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