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TRADITIONAL VISION SCREENING BEST
TRADITIONAL VISION SCREENING BEST
ANCHOR LEAD: STICK WITH TRADITIONAL EYE EXAMS FOR NOW, ELIZABETH TRACEY REPORTS
An exciting new method for eye screening is on the horizon. Called photoscreening, the test relies on a light beam being directed into the eye and a photograph taken of the pupil. Such a method would allow very young children to be tested. Michael Repka, professor of ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins, says that while such a screening tool is very attractive, for right now stick with the tried and true.
REPKA: They’re not as good as the gold standard exam but they’re being used, they’re being marketed, being sold, to families and school districts throughout this country. My recommendations right now in terms of screening, have the visual acuity measured at age three or four. If they have photoscreening available there would be no harm and a potential advantage to doing it but they should not accept the photoscreening as the definitive or final say. :26
Repka feels confident that as photoscreening is validated it will be more reliable, and would also allow eye conditions to be treated very early in life when they have the best chance of success.
At the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, I'm Elizabeth Tracey reporting.
