Virtual Visual Field Exam

Ever since I can remember I have been getting visual field exams at the eye doctor. Because I have a lot of strange eye issues annual exams were a part of my life since I was sixteen - when I got my first pair of glasses and soon after - contacts. I also had some visual disturbances in my early twenties and also high pressures. For the last many years the eye exams were every six months. How fun! This week was time for my eye exam. But there was something new and refreshing about this experience. First of all the office moved to a much larger space so it just felt better. And when it came time for the dreaded visual field test a new device was introduced. No longer did you have to sit in front of the hooded machine, put on an eye patch, put your chin in the strap, lean in, listen to the weird noise it made, and then click away at each twinkling bright and not so bright lights. This time I was handed a virtual field headset. I could keep my glasses on and adjust the device so it was comfortable while I remained sitting in the usual exam chair. It was already more comfortable. Then the test began and the device automatically shaded one eye out and then halfway through it changed to the other eye. The clicker didn’t make any noise and it was Wi-Fi attached so there were no cords. The instructions were written and spoken on the device. The technician basically left the room until it was done. I rather like all of these digital devices and thought this was such an improvement over the old machine. After all, that technology needed to be updated - it’s almost as old as I am. And that’s over fifty years. Things are changing so rapidly these days. This is just another example. And having been in health care for most of my career it can only get so much better.