Pupillary evaluation of retinal asymmetry: development and initial testing of a technique.

PubMed ID: 15907969

Author(s): Chen Y, Wyatt HJ, Swanson WH. Pupillary evaluation of retinal asymmetry: development and initial testing of a technique. Vision Res. 2005 Sep;45(19):2549-63. PMID 15907969

Journal: Vision Research, Volume 45, Issue 19, Sep 2005

Glaucomatous damage to upper and lower retina is often unequal. We have developed a rapid, objective, quantitative measure of asymmetry of retinal sensitivity, using infrared pupillometry and pairs of large stimuli that are symmetric about the horizontal meridian. Results for a group of 11 young subjects free of eye disease indicate that the distribution of asymmetry is close to a normal distribution centered near upper/lower symmetry. Some subjects showed modest amounts of asymmetry, which was relatively uniform within each eye, and between the two eyes, of the subject. This approach to determination of asymmetry within an eye is potentially applicable to testing patients with glaucoma. The narrowness of the distribution should make it possible to detect asymmetries caused by disease.