This degradation of the nerve fiber layer can occur up to six years before the patient notices any symptoms of the disease. Now, this new technology allows eyecare professionals to detect loss in the nerve fiber layer before any symptoms of the disease are apparent. By the time you realize what's happened, the damage is done and you may have already lost a significant portion of your sight. If we catch glaucoma before patients lose vision, we can prescribe a treatment protocol that will help save more of their sight. That's why it is crucial to detect and diagnose glaucoma at the earliest stage possible.
Experts agree that early detection is the key to managing glaucoma.
However, it can take up to six years, or 40 to 60 percent of nerve fibers to be damaged, before traditional glaucoma screening tests can identify a potential problem. Access uses safe infrared laser technology to measure the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer, allowing eyecare professionals to determine early on whether structural damage has been done to the eye, long before patients begin to lose their sight. The GDx Access screening test is comfortable and convenient for the patient. It is an in-office procedure that does not require pupil dilation, drops in the eye, or rely on the patient to make subjective decisions. Patients who are diagnosed as having glaucoma can then begin an immediate course of preventative treatment that allows for the maximum preservation of sight.