Retinopathy Tests

Diagnosis tests for retinopathy and macular edema

• Visual acuity test – Normal eye chart test to measures your ability to see at various distances.
• Dilated eye exam – Eye drops are used to dilate (enlarge), the pupils. This makes room to the eye care professional to see more of the inside of the eyes to examine retina and optic nerve damage if any and other eye problems. After this eye exam, close-up vision may continue to be blurred for hours due to the effect of eye drop.
• Tonometry to measure the pressure inside the eye. Numbing eye drops may be used for this test.
• Ophthalmoscopy, doctor uses a special instrument wearing a headset with a bright light and examines your eye’s retina through a special magnifying glass.
• Fluorescein angiography (FA) is suggested only if your eye care professional believes you have macular edema. This test uses a small quantity of a special fluorescein dye which is injected into a vein and the pictures are taken. This test is used to pinpoint the area of leak in blood vessel. This test is usually done as an outpatient procedure.

• blood vessels leaking.
• Retina swelling - macular edema.
• fatty deposits on the retina, signs of leaking blood vessels.
• Damaged nerve tissue.