New Application for Automatic Hemifield Damage Identification in Humphrey Field Analyzer (HFA) Visual Fields

摘要

Glaucoma is a disease affecting the optic nerve. Structural as well as functional changes occur as the disease progresses. Glaucomatous optic discs appear with certain patterns of structural damage, and the disease's main consequence is patient's visual field damage. Taking therapeutic decisions for glaucomatous patients requires visual field examination which until today is the cornerstone of glaucomatous patients' management. Humphrey Field Analyzer (HFA) is the most commonly used device for visual field examination. There are certain demographic and anatomic risk factors contributing to glaucoma occurrence and progression. Vascular risk factors as well as ocular blood flow have been studied also, but their role remains unclear. Studying the correlation between various risk factors and structural and functional damage in glaucoma is one of the most interesting research fields lately. The purpose of this project was the development of software that reads HFA data from large databases. Then it categorizes visual fields according to hemifield damage. The results can be used for the correlation of hemifield damage with differences in ocular blood between the upper and lower half of the patients' retina, as measured with the Heidelberg Retina Flowmeter (HRF). The software can be also used for the calculation of the binocular visual field, after the proper modifications. The software was developed using php and the interface was designed so as to offer a user friendly environment and a summary as well as a descriptive results display.