Imaging
All imaging is carried out at the practice, usually during the same consultation. It is painless, mostly without any contact with the eye, and requires no injection.
OCT
Optical coherence tomography takes a cross-section of the retina, rather like a scan, accurate to a few microns. It is the reference examination for following AMD, macular oedema or glaucoma: it reveals changes long before they can be seen at the back of the eye. You rest your chin on a support and look at a small light; it takes less than a minute per eye, and nothing touches your eye.
OCT angiography
A variant of OCT that maps the blood vessels of the retina with no contrast injection at all. It is used in particular to find the new vessels of wet AMD and to follow capillary damage in patients with diabetes — entirely non-invasively, which means it can be repeated as often as needed.
Automated visual field
This measures everything you can see without moving your eye, edges included. It is the key test for glaucoma, because it detects lost areas before you notice them yourself. You fix on a central point and press a button whenever a light appears, however faintly. Allow five to ten minutes per eye: it is the one examination that is slightly tiring, because it demands concentration. It is normal not to see every point — the machine expects you to miss some.
Corneal topography
This maps the contour of the cornea point by point, like a relief map. It is used to analyse astigmatism, to fit rigid contact lenses, to screen for keratoconus in a young patient whose sight is deteriorating quickly, and to prepare a pre-surgical assessment.
Biometry
A measurement of the length of the eye and the curvature of the cornea, taken before cataract surgery to calculate the power of the implant. How precise this measurement is directly determines the quality of your vision after the operation — a short test, but one of the most decisive in the whole process.
In practice
- None of these examinations is painful
- Bring your glasses and your previous prescriptions
- Some require a dilated pupil: plan not to drive home
- Images are kept in your file and compared from one visit to the next
- It is the change over time that matters, as much as today’s image
This page gives general information and is not a substitute for a consultation. Only an examination can establish a diagnosis and tailor treatment to your situation.
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