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Surgeon: Upgraded perimetry is a step forward in early glaucoma detection
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LAS VEGAS — An updated, faster version of frequency doubling technology perimetry is effective for detecting pre-perimetric glaucoma, according to a physician who has clinical experience with the technology.
“For the last few years, we have searched for a technology that allows us to identify early field loss when we are just starting to see changes in the optic nerve,” said Steven T. Simmons, MD. He described his own clinical experience with frequency doubling technology (FDT) on the Humphrey Matrix from Carl Zeiss Meditec in a presentation here at the Ocular Surgery News Symposium, Glaucoma: Improving Your Odds.
Noting that full-field perimetry is arduous for patients, Dr. Simmons said “FDT has changed the way we practice glaucoma in these patients with early glaucoma.”
According to Dr. Simmons, the Humphrey Matrix uses the same technology as previous FDT perimetry, but the target size is reduced from a 10° field to a 5° field. The new technology also features the ZEST algorithm, which can gather twice the amount of data in the same amount of test time, he said.
“With those changes it has become much better at detecting progression of change over time and reduces the variability that we saw with standard frequency doubling technology,” Dr. Simmons said.
He said the Matrix is a great screening tool that is specific in determining who is normal and who is abnormal.
“But it is also a valuable tool to look at those patients you are concerned about who may have normal inferior fields,” he said. “Nothing affects the patient’s quality of life more than damage in the inferior field.”