New Falck device provides several glaucoma diagnostics
BOSTON — The new FMAT1 measures tonometry, ophthalmodynamometry, tonography and ocular pulse amplitude, helping clinicians better manage glaucoma, J. James Thimons, OD, said at the American Academy of Optometry annual meeting.
“The FMAT1 is the only tonographer cleared by the FDA to measure aqueous outflow,” he said at a virtual academy-sponsored press conference. “It’s a replacement for your current tonometer. It’s compact, precise. The [disposable] prism does the measurement, and it’s a technician-based procedure. It really addresses the underlying issue of the cause of glaucoma.
“It allows us to look at the conventional outflow through Schlemm’s canal and uveoscleral outflow as well,” he said. “It’s a 5-second test. It’s like the HbA1c of glaucoma.”
IOP is measured through serial tonometry, Thimons explained.
“Each IOP measurement takes multiple repeated samples in a 6- to 8-second cycle,” he said.
IOP varies throughout the day and with cardiac cycle, Thimons said, and this fluctuation is consistent with trabecular meshwork resistance. This instrument can measure IOP as well as outflow.
“This is proven to be incredibly accurate in predicting diurnal variation,” he said. In addition, “We can look at a patient’s physiologic status independent of IOP and the impact that it’s having on disease progression.”
The FMAT1 (Falck Medical) also measures ocular perfusion pressure (OPP), a force that drives blood into the eye through the carotid artery and into the retinal artery, Thimons said.
“The difference between IOP and central retinal artery pressure is OPP,” he said. “Reduced OPP is a risk factor for glaucoma progression. Numerous patients have come in with lower than average numbers, and we uncovered underlying systemic problems.
“This is one of the devices that everybody needs to have if you manage glaucoma patients,” he said.
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