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"Don't tell me what my fun is."

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Normal Macula, Normal Fundus Image = Normal Eye? Not so fast.

As I have said may times before when vision is less than 20/20 it is our job to determine the cause.  What we have grow accustomed to over the years when the macula appears normal on fundoscopy or imaging is that we can rule out the macula as being involved.  Wrong.  As Jerry Sherman has revealed over and over in Retina Revealed when vision is down and the macula looks normal we if we have no other cause that explains the reduce acuity we should get out the OCT.  Cross sectional imaging which gets below what we can see with a scope or an image will often reveal an abnormality deeper in the retina. 

A paradigm shift is necessary.  A normal fundus image of the macula does not necessarily mean  that the macula is normal.  Without another explanation for reduced acuity we should always order an OCT scan of the macula.

Zeiss Updates OCT and HFA Software

Cirrus™ HD-OCT Optic Nerve Head Analysis 
The new Cirrus™ HD-OCT Optic Nerve Head Analysis software provides automated identification of the optic disc and cup boundaries. The analysis is generated using the existing Optic Disc 200 x 200 data cube and a new proprietary ZEISS algorithm. This algorithm is designed to precisely measure the neuro-retinal rim, while accounting for tilted discs, disruptions to the RPE and other challenging pathology. Optic nerve head calculations are presented in a combined report with RNFL thickness data. Key parameters are displayed in table format. In addition, the boundaries of the cup and disc are displayed on the en face image integrated with the RNFL thickness deviation map.

“Doctors always are on the alert for improved ways of managing glaucoma,” said Douglas Anderson, MD, Professor, Douglas R. Anderson, Chair in Ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami. “Recent improvements in OCT imagery of the eye provided such an opportunity, and I was pleased to collaborate with Carl Zeiss Meditec in the development of a new method for quantifying optic nerve damage commonly seen in glaucoma.”

Humphrey Field Analyzer with Guided Progression Analysis (GPA) Software 
The world’s most widely used automated perimeter is now the only perimeter with GPA software that has received clearance from the FDA to specifically assess both change from baseline and the rate of change of visual field loss over time. With GPA, doctors can see at-a-glance whether vision has changed for each individual patient and they can subsequently identify how rapidly visual field loss is progressing. Understanding each patient’s rate of progression helps the doctor to adjust the therapeutic regimen with the goal of preserving vision throughout the patient's expected life.

Humphrey Field Analyzers are used by more eye care providers than any other automated perimeter today, and more than 60 thousand units have been sold since the first models were introduced in 1984. In addition to FDA cleared GPA software for the HFA, GPA software also is FDA-cleared for the Cirrus HD-OCT.