March 10, 2008 Carl Zeiss Meditec has announced the latest version of its Humphrey Field Analyzer – an automated diagnostic system for Glaucoma management and blindness prevention. The HFA II-i will use Guided Progression Analysis software to summarize all available visual field test results on a single page, calculating each patient’s rate of visual field deterioration and allowing doctors to determine the stage of a disease, its rate of progression, and the patient’s risk of future vision loss.
By closely monitoring changes in the eye, the HFA II-i will provide doctors with the ability to prevent irreversible vision loss in patients with Glaucoma – a degenerative disease of the optic nerve that progresses without obvious symptoms, and is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide. The Guided Progression Analysis software collects a Glaucoma patient’s baseline fields, disease staging versus time, rate of progression and most recent test result on a single page – streamlining and simplifying clinical processes. A Visual Field Index correlates with ganglion cell density, and the system is less affected by cataract and other media changes than earlier indices.
“Vision loss from glaucoma is irreversible. Thus, it is vital that doctors be able to efficiently differentiate between those patients who are doing well on present therapy versus those who are not stabilized,” said Robert N. Weinreb, M.D., distinguished professor of ophthalmology and director at the Hamilton Glaucoma Center of the University of California, San Diego. “Only by identifying the patients who continue to progress can glaucoma be appropriately managed to prevent vision loss or even blindness."
“The goal of our investment in new glaucoma technologies is to preserve eyesight for the nearly 60 million people worldwide suffering from this disease,” said Jim Taylor, Carl Zeiss Meditec president and chief executive officer. “The HFA II-i with new GPA software helps doctors closely monitor their glaucoma patients and ensure that each patient is receiving the best course of treatment to prevent vision loss.”
