Tue. Dec 24th, 2024

How sharp are your eyes? Will you ace this test?

Visual field test (perimetry)
Your visual field is the full extent of what you can see to the sides without moving your eyes. The visual field test determines whether you have difficulty seeing anywhere in your overall field of vision. Types of visual field tests include:

Confrontation exam. Your eye doctor sits directly in front of you and asks you to cover one eye. You look straight ahead and tell the doctor each time you see his or her hand move into view.
Manual testing, including tangent screen and Goldmann exams. You sit a short distance from a screen and focus on a target at its center. You tell the doctor when you can see an object move into your peripheral vision and when it disappears.
Automated perimetry. As you look at a screen with blinking lights on it, you press a button each time you see a light.
Using your responses to one or more of these tests, your eye doctor determines the fullness of your field of vision. If you aren’t able to see in certain areas, noting the pattern of your visual field loss can help your eye doctor diagnose your eye condition.