The study examined using an open-source tablet perimeter (Eyecatcher) as a rapid triage measure for glaucoma clinic waiting areas .
Seventy-seven people were tested twice using Eyecatcher (one eye only) while waiting for a routine appointment in a UK glaucoma clinic. The sample included individuals with an established diagnosis of glaucoma, and false-positive new referrals (no visual field or optic nerve abnormalities). No attempts were made to control the testing environment. Patients wore their own glasses and received minimal task instruction.
Eyecatcher was fast (median: 2.5 min), produced results in good agreement with standard automated perimetry (SAP), and was rated as more enjoyable, less tiring and easier to perform than SAP (all p<0.001). It exhibited good separation (area under receiver operating characteristic=0.97) between eyes with advanced field loss (mean deviation (MD) < −6 dB) and those within normal limits (MD > −2 dB). And it was able to flag two thirds of false-positive referrals as functionally normal. However, eight people (10%) failed to complete the test twice, and reasons for this limitation are discussed.
Through the findings of the study it is concluded that Tablet-based eye-movement perimetry could potentially provide a pragmatic way of triaging busy glaucoma clinics (ie, flagging high-risk patients and possible false-positive referrals).
Reference: https://bjo.bmj.com/content/early/2020/08/03/bjophthalmol-2020-316018
