A common diagnosis tool is Visual Fields Testing. Murdoch Ophthalmology uses the Humphrey Visual Field machine which is the latest machine available for visual fields testing.
When you are tested for your vision, it is divided up into two tests – central vision and peripheral vision. It is very easy to test your central vision, such as with a standard eye chart. However, your peripheral vision is harder to test.
By using the Humphrey Visual Field machine ), we can easily test your peripheral vision. You will sit in front of a dome which illuminates lights of different intensity over a period of time. Every time you see a light, you press a button. As easy as it may sound, it actually requires a lot of concentration to find out how good your peripheral vision actually is.
Visual Fields Testing is commonly used to assess eye conditions including:
- Glaucoma
- Ocular hypertension
- Retinal degenerative diseases
- Neurological problems such as strokes or pituitary tumours
This is a very important test for those with glaucoma. This condition causes damage to the optical nerve, which results in changes to your peripheral vision. It is a highly essential monitoring and diagnosis tool as people may not realise that their peripheral vision is not as good as it should be or perhaps is deteriorating. For those diagnosed with glaucoma, Visual Fields Tests are performed once to twice a year to measure how well your visual field sensitivity is and to ensure that it is not deteriorating faster than usual.