A strategy for measuring the blind spot using automated perimetry

A variety of disorders involving the retina or the visual pathways are associated with enlargement of the blind spot, and, when using manual perimetry, determination of the blind spot is a routine procedure. Yet, using automated static perimetry, evaluation of the blind spot is hardly ever performed, because, with routine strategies, restriction in the number of tested locations results in poor delineation of small scotomata. Currently available computer programs designed for a precise evaluation of the blind spot necessitate the testing of a large number of locations. The authors have developed a spatially adaptive strategy for relatively fast and precise measurement of the blind spot using automated perimetry. It determines the width and height of the blind spot, taking into account interocular variability in location of the scotoma. Using this procedure, computerized static evaluation of the blind spot requires a mean of 38.9 tested locations, and as a result is much shorter than with other comparable techniques. In keeping with the general principles of this strategy, optimization of the procedure is currently investigated using computer simulation, to further reduce the duration of the evaluation without reducing the accuracy and the robustness of the procedure.