The Working Of A Vision Screener

By Jaclyn Hurley


Pediatric vision testing is normally recommended with the intention of detecting disorders early enough. The common disorders include amblyopia, misaligned eyes (strabismus) and refractive errors that may call for eye glasses. The most commonly used approaches include community settings such as schools, health fairs, or in medical institutions. Vision screener is the most important medical device that has made this form of testing so cheaply and easily accessible.

With solid scientific background and support from several studies and testimonials published in medical journals, this is a device that has gain favor with several medical professionals, government agencies and non-governmental organizations alike. Currently, it is used by nurses in schools, pediatricians, opticians, members of the Lions club and many other professionals. The only required compliance is the camera fixation and there is a specially designed sound to achieve by provoking fixation.

Among several other features, the vision screening device gives results with proven accuracy and screens both eye balls simultaneously. In addition to this, the screening is done at a distance of one meter away (3.3 feet) from the camera. It lasts for only 0.8 second and displays results automatically on the screen. This makes it very easy to use and interpret the results that can also be stored in a data base for later reference through the various documentation options available.

For this reason, both the use and result interpretation is very easy and you can also take advantage of the documentation options that are available. The operational procedure for the device is very easy and takes less than one second for the display of results. It is for this reason that even non-medical staff finds it easy to conduct vision screening.

The measurements performed revolve around refraction size, the size of the pupil and the cornea reflexes. These are then compared with the data used for referral to determine if they are within the normal range or not and the PASS or REFERAL results is then generated. In order to diagnose anisometropia, the refractions of both of the eyes are compared and the deference compared with the standards reference.

In order to diagnose myopia, the nearsightedness is checked and farsightedness checked for hyperopia. The other checks that are done include comparison of pupil sizes for both eyes for anisocoria and determination of symmetric eye alignment for corneal reflexes. All these happen automatically in seconds hence the immediate results displayed on the screen.

A PASS displayed on the screen implies that all readings are within the recommended limit meaning that none of the conditions has been detected. In case of one or more of measurements or not within the limit, the result displayed is a REFER. Either a REFER or PASS is displayed on the screen as soon as the measurement is complete.

These results can be saved as the device has an internal database. These can be displayed later on and for many patients in a chronological order helping in data manipulation and other uses. It eliminates the need for visiting an optician when unnecessary yet ensures that you have opportunity to seek help at the earliest sign of eye condition problem.




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