Some of you might know that a while back I was diagnosed with high inter-ocular pressure… it’s a warning sign for glaucoma. The good news was that my corneal thickness was way above average – which means that any pressure reading would be exaggerated as a result.
My eyes are considered in the normal range when you take into account all the variables.
Even so, the Dr. wanted to get a scan of my optic nerve as a baseline for future comparisons. He performed a Heidelberg Retina Topograph. It basically uses a low-intensity laser to scan the surface of your optic nerve, layer by layer, and then uses that data to generate a 3D picture. The results were very good – I have very high nerve density in both eyes. I check out just fine, even though my eyes aren’t very symmetrical on the inside.
You’re basically looking into a microscope with a chin-rest, and on the inside, there’s an LED on the left or the right side, depending on which eye they’re scanning. Each eye takes about 5 seconds, during which you look at the green LED while a checkerboard square of red light pulses rapid-fire style, centered in your field of vision. There wasn’t any pain or discomfort, the light wasn’t particularly intense and it didn’t leave any ghosts or after-images, although it did feel like I felt the checkerboard on the back of my eye with each pulse. It wasn’t unpleasant, just… odd.
The best part was the 3D image – the technician showed me the lines and contours of my optic nerve, which was gee-wiz level cool, so I thought I’d share the paper they gave me.
Coolest Eye Dr. Visit (eye pics)
My eyes are considered in the normal range when you take into account all the variables.
Even so, the Dr. wanted to get a scan of my optic nerve as a baseline for future comparisons. He performed a Heidelberg Retina Topograph. It basically uses a low-intensity laser to scan the surface of your optic nerve, layer by layer, and then uses that data to generate a 3D picture. The results were very good – I have very high nerve density in both eyes. I check out just fine, even though my eyes aren’t very symmetrical on the inside.
You’re basically looking into a microscope with a chin-rest, and on the inside, there’s an LED on the left or the right side, depending on which eye they’re scanning. Each eye takes about 5 seconds, during which you look at the green LED while a checkerboard square of red light pulses rapid-fire style, centered in your field of vision. There wasn’t any pain or discomfort, the light wasn’t particularly intense and it didn’t leave any ghosts or after-images, although it did feel like I felt the checkerboard on the back of my eye with each pulse. It wasn’t unpleasant, just… odd.
The best part was the 3D image – the technician showed me the lines and contours of my optic nerve, which was gee-wiz level cool, so I thought I’d share the paper they gave me.