PRACTICE STRATEGIES: In-office diagnostic equipment rental

摘要

Computerized optic nerve analysis is increasingly used to diagnose and monitor patients with glaucoma. Nerve analyzers can be used to assess the thickness of the optic disc, neuroretinal rim, and retinal nerve fiber layer. The instruments can thereby be beneficial in identifying early glaucomatous neuropathy. They are also valuable in managing patients with age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and other conditions. Over the last several years, 3 optic nerve analysis technologies have become widely available: (1) Scanning laser polarimetry, used in the Carl Zeiss Meditech GDx Nerve Fiber Analysis System (Zeiss Humphrey Systems, Dublin, California); (2) Confocal laser ophthalmoscopy, used in the Heidelberg Retinal Tomography (HRT) system (Heidelberg Engineering, Dossenheim, Germany); (3) Optical coherence tomography (OCT), used in the Zeiss Stratus, Zeiss Cirrus HD-OCT, Optovue RTVue (Optovue, Inc., Fremont, California), Heidelberg Spectralis, Topcon 3-D OCT (Topcon Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) and other devices.