Eye tomography for investigating glaucoma
Heidelberg retinal tomography (HRT) is the initial method used by an ophthalmologist for diagnosing glaucoma (especially if no visual field impairments are present) and monitoring its course.
HRT:
- is used in clinical trials of glaucoma for monitoring the long-term course of the disease;
- enables an extensive database to be used collected by the experts for interpreting investigation results;
- enables investigation results to be sent via the internet.
The results of the OHTS clinical trial (concerns treatment of increased intraocular pressure) indicate that alterations of the optic nerve caused by glaucoma are already present in 55% of cases before any decreases in visual acuity or visual field impairments are detected. HRT makes it possible to detect these early alterations. The OHTS trial showed that in 93% of subjects normal findings persisted unchanged on average for 5 years.
