Maintaining healthy vision is essential to live a fulfilling life. Our optometrist in Bellflower provides advanced functional vision testing to ensure your eyes and vision are working at their best. During a functional eye examination, various tests are performed to determine the overall health of your eyes. In this blog, we will discuss the significance of sensory fusion and how we use it to diagnose vision-related problems.
What is Sensory Fusion and Why is Binocular Vision Important?
Sensory fusion is the ability of the brain to combine two images from each eye into a single image. This is vital for proper vision, as it allows us to perceive depth and distance accurately. Without sensory fusion, we would experience double vision, which can be debilitating and cause a range of issues.
How Our Optometrist Tests for Lazy Eye: The Worth Four Dot Test
The worth four dot test is a simple, yet effective, way to measure sensory fusion. The test consists of four dots arranged in a square. One dot is red, one is green, and two are white. During the test, the patient wears special glasses that alternate the image shown to each eye. This allows us to determine whether the patient's brain is fusing the images or suppressing one of them.
Interpreting the Test Results
The worth four dot test is interpreted by our optometrist based on the patient's responses. If the patient is fusing the images, they will see four dots, one red, one green, and two white. If the patient is suppressing one of the images, they will only see three dots, all green or all white. This indicates that the brain is not properly fusing the images, and further testing may be required to diagnose the issue.
Why is Sensory Fusion Important?
Sensory fusion is important for a range of everyday activities, such as driving, reading, and sports. It allows us to perceive depth and distance accurately and maintain our balance. Children with sensory fusion issues may struggle in school, as reading and writing require accurate vision. Adults may struggle with work-related tasks, such as using a computer or driving. Furthermore, sensory fusion issues may indicate other underlying vision problems, such as strabismus (crossed eyes), amblyopia (lazy eye), or binocular vision dysfunction.
Take our online visual skills assessment to help identify if you or your child has a potential visual deficit that may be interfering with success in the classroom, work, or sports.
