New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) has the latest, state-of-the-art equipment to diagnose diseases of the eyes. Few hospitals in the Metropolitan area have the same breadth of technology, which is why our Ocular Imaging Center is a regional referral center for diagnostic services.

NYEE ophthalmologists and specially trained technicians use the following wide range of diagnostic tools to determine if you have glaucoma, or if you are predisposed to develop it.

Pachymeter: The pachymeter is an ultrasound device that measures the thickness of your cornea. Studies have shown that central corneal thickness is a strong risk factor for determining if someone with elevated intraocular pressure will develop glaucoma later on.

Tonometer: This instrument allows your ophthalmologist to determine fluid pressure inside your eye. The tonometer does so by blowing a small puff of air into the eye and through a special sensor detects the degree of indentation on the surface of the eye. The test is quick and painless. 

Visual Field Test: Peripheral vision is usually affected by glaucoma before central vision. The purpose of the visual field test is to determine the amount of peripheral vision that has been lost. The test requires you to identify visual stimuli (such as a light) that appear in a peripheral field while the eye is stationary. 

Gonioscopy: This procedure allows your ophthalmologist to examine through a slit lamp (which uses a high-intensity beam of light) the trabecular meshwork and the angle of the eye where fluid drains to determine if it is open or closed. A closed or nearly closed angle is a risk factor for angle-closure glaucoma, a medical emergency.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT): This non-invasive imaging test uses light waves to take cross-sectional pictures of the complex biological structures of the eye. These include the thickness of the nerve fiber layer and a three-dimensional representation of the optic nerve, which are particularly helpful in the diagnosis of glaucoma.