glaucoma diagnosis

Over 2.2 million Americans currently have glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness. In fact, the eye disease accounts for 9-12% of all cases of blindness in the U.S., more than 120,000 people. Scary, right? Scarier is the fact that only half of those with glaucoma know they have the eye disease, because it presents no symptoms. This is why regular eye exams are so important.

Early glaucoma diagnosis and treatment are the keys to protecting your vision from glaucoma damage. A comprehensive eye exam includes five common glaucoma tests:

Tonometry: This test measures intraocular pressure (IOP), also known as eye pressure. A small amount of pressure is applied to the eye (typically a puff of air) while your eye doctor uses a tonometer to measure the inner pressure of the eye. Normal eye pressure is 12-21 mm Hg.
Ophthalmoscopy: This measurement helps your eye doctor examine the optic nerve to look for glaucoma damage. First, eye drops are used to dilate the pupils. Then the doctor uses a small device to illuminate and magnify the optic nerve for careful observation.
Perimetry: This measurement maps your complete field of vision, also known as the visual field test, to help your eye doctor determine whether or not you have suffered any vision loss as a result of glaucoma. You will be asked to look straight ahead and indicate when a moving light passes your peripheral vision.
Gonioscopy: This test helps determine whether the angle where the iris meets the cornea is open and wide or narrow and closed. Eye drops are used to numb the eye before a hand-held contact lens is placed on the eye. This lens allows the eye doctor to see if the angle is closed and blocked, which is a sign of angle-closure or acute glaucoma, or wide and open, a sign of open-angle, chronic glaucoma.
Pachymetry: This measures the thickness of your cornea. A special device called a pachymeter is placed on the front of the eye to measure corneal thickness, which has the potential to influence eye pressure readings.

Anne Arundel Eye Center, Specializing in Glaucoma Diagnosis and Treatment

Specializing in glaucoma diagnosis and treatment, the Anne Arundel Eye Center (AAEC) offers complete ophthalmic exams. Board certified ophthalmologist Dr. Samuel Boles and his staff have helped preserve thousands of patients’ vision. Let AAEC help you too!

If you have any questions about Common Glaucoma Tests or wish to schedule an appointment, please contact Dr. Boles, consultative optometrists Dr. Nathan Frank and Dr. Corinne Casey, and the eye care specialists at the Anne Arundel Eye Center by calling 410-224-2010 or visiting AnneArundelEyeCenter.com today. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube as well!

For more eye care advice and information, please take a look at our previous blog posts.

Source:

5 Common Glaucoma Tests Glaucoma Research Foundation

Dr. Samuel F. Boles and the rest of the Anne Arundel Eye Center staff are happy to welcome board certified Optometrist Dr. Nathan T. Frank to their ever-growing practice.

“We are an established practice that continuously welcomes new patients and we are very excited to have a physician with Dr. Frank’s background and specialty experience join our staff, to help us continue to provide the utmost care and education within the community,” Dr. Boles said.

That care and education that Dr. Boles mentions is the reason that Anne Arundel Eye Center is proud of its growth over the past five years, now serving over 6,000 patients. The state-of-the-art treatment center, which specializes in glaucoma and cataracts diagnosis and treatment, hired Dr. Frank to support that increased patient base.

Dr. Frank completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Wyoming in 2004 and received his doctorate in Optometry at Pacific University in 2008. As part of his training, Dr. Frank held clinical externships at Alaska Eye Care Center, Arizona; Pacific University College of Optometry, Oregon; Fort Washakie Indian Health Services, Wyoming; Alaska Eye Center, Alaska; and attended weekly grand round lectures at the Wilmer Eye Center at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Frank completed his residency with the Maryland-based eye care center Seidenberg and Protzko Eye Associates with an emphasis on ocular disease, pediatrics and refractive surgery.

Before relocating to Annapolis, Maryland with his wife Lesleigh, a pediatric occupational therapist at Kennedy Krieger, Dr. Frank was owner and optometric physician at DV Eyecare LLC in La Grande, Oregon – a practice providing primary care, contact lens services, and medical optometry. Dr. Frank is a former member of the Oregon Optometric Association and current member of the American Optometric Association, the Maryland Optometric Association, and the Optometric Nutrition Society. He has recently published two Posters – “Bilateral Acute Retinal Necrosis Secondary to HSV-2” and “Bleb Associated Pseudomonal Endophthalmitis.”

Anne Arundel Eye center is delighted to welcome such a highly qualified Optometrist to its practice. Dr. Frank was brought in to help the center handle its increased patient base, while furthering Anne Arundel Eye Center’s commitment to providing comprehensive eye care services, specializing in cataract and glaucoma diagnosis and treatment.

Anne Arundel Eye Center is located at 127 Lubrano Drive, Suite 301, Annapolis, MD, 21401 across from Annapolis Mall. For patient appointment information, please call (410) 224-2010 or visit them at www.AnneArundelEyeCenter.com.

You can follow Anne Arundel Eye Center on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube as well!