New Diagnostic AMD Detection Testing

The office of Dr Kevin Anderson & Associates is pleased to inform our patients and Northern Colorado the latest in Macular Degeneration detection. The Preview PHP from Carl Zeiss Meditec has been developed as a new perimetry device for the early detection and management of Macular Degeneration. The PHP represents a major improvement in the early diagnosis of the disease.

The current standards for detecting changes in the retina resulting from Macular Degeneration are periodic examinations, self-monitoring using the Amsler grid, and reports of symptoms.

The technology for the PHP is based on the Hyperacuity phenomenon, which is essentially the ability of an individual to perceive minute differences in the relative location of two or more visual stimuli. This ability isn't affected by age.

The test is given by a technician and takes about 5 minutes for each eye. The patient and technician sit at an instrument that resembles a computer screen while the patient focuses on a white dot in the center of the screen. As the patient focuses on the dot, lines with wavy areas of different sizes flash briefly at different places on the screen. When a line disappears, the patient uses a stylus to touch the spot on the screen where she thinks the wavy area was. The instrument then determines whether the responses are consistent with the progression of Macular Degeneration. This is what the test looks like when there is a positive AMD test.

This instrument has the ability to detect lesions the size of 300 microns. This size of lesion does not have an impact on the patient’s visual acuity and they are relatively symptomatic free. Early detection of dry or wet macular degeneration is needed to use the available treatment prior to the eventual damage to the retina and resulting loss of visual acuity.

In clinical tests, the PHP was significantly superior to the Amsler grid in differentiating intermediate dry Macular Degeneration from wet Macular Degeneration. With the new anti-angiogenic medications (Macugen) now on the market, the earlier the detection of macular degeneration, the earlier that treatment can begin and save our valuable sense: VISION. See our article on the new treatment options for macular degeneration titled Macugen.

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