RETeval ERG is an amazing device that provides comprehensive information about your retinal health. The retina is the back portion of your eye which detects light as it enters the eye. Then, it converts that light signal into an electrical signal for your brain to interpret what your eye has just seen.
An ERG device will measure both the speed and the strength of that electrical response which comes from your retina when it is flashed with a series of lights. Sensor strips will collect the signals, and these strips will be placed just under your eye, right next to your temples. It's a similar method as with ECG tests.
The first thing your eye doctor will do, is to clean the surface of where they are going to place the sensor strips. Your skin will be cleaned and dried off with a skin prep gel to get rid of any excess oils or lotions that may have been on your skin. Therefore, it's important to not wear any eye makeup or face lotion before you come into our office, especially if you know that your eye doctor will be doing RETeval ERG testing on you.
After your skin is clean and dry, the sensor strip will then be placed under your eye and around your temples. You will then cover your non-tested eye and the handheld device will be placed over your eye. The RETeval will flash a series of lights into your eyes. The process usually takes around a minute.
RETeval ERG will automatically prepare the results for our eye doctor once the test has been completed. Your results will be compared to a large database of response times from patients in the same age range. Having a report that flags any abnormalities will help the doctor to diagnose eye conditions or decide what kind of treatment or further testing you need for the various visual disorders.
A RETeval ERG is so valuable to diabetics as you may have functional changes to your retina before there are any obvious signs of diabetic retinopathy on your retina, and this device is able to provide that information to the doctor. Traditional eye tests for diabetics were able to show when the cells were beginning to die due to mismanaged diabetes. Now with the RETeval ERG eye doctors can detect damage before permanent cellular death has occured.
The ERG enables our eye doctors to diagnose earlier, more accurately, and continue to follow up with objective measurements.
The RETeval ERG results give the eye doctor a lot of information about the retina and the optic nerve. Also, what's so amazing about RETeval ERG is that it is effective not only for detecting eye disorders in adults like glaucoma, but it's also helpful for children. The reason is that children, especially if they are non-verbal, may find it difficult to express themselves if they are experiencing vision problems. The RETeval ERG will allow them to examine the child's retina and vision, enabling them to detect congenital or hereditary issues with the child’s vision.