What is the process?

The procedure of a visual field examination depends on the type of test. There are different variants for the examination: In the so-called finger perimetry the examiner examines the visual field by moving his fingers from the back to the front into the patient’s visual field. As soon as the patient perceives this, the patient reports back.

In this way the limits of the visual field can be roughly and quickly assessed. In so-called static perimetry, the patient’s head is firmly seated in a device. His eyes fixate on the center of a hemisphere in which points of light are illuminated. If the patient perceives these in his field of vision, he reports. With the device it is also possible to measure the examination with different light intensities to achieve a better result.

How long does the examination take?

The coarse-orienting fingerperimetric examination of the visual field takes only a few minutes. The static examination of the visual field usually takes about 15-20 minutes. The treatment is neither invasive nor painful.

It does not require much preparation and you do not have to be sober. All that is required is a high level of concentration and willingness to cooperate. At the ophthalmologist or in the eye clinic, the field of vision is measured more precisely: with the help of an apparatus called a perimeter.

Here too, each eye is measured individually, with the head held still and the eye looking straight ahead. The apparatus is a hemisphere with a fixation point in the middle, which the patient must aim at consistently. Now a light point is introduced into the hemisphere from the outside.

Again, the patient must let us know when he/she first perceives the point. Again, all directions are tested (top, bottom, right, left, top left, top right, etc.). In this way, it is possible to precisely determine the dimensions and possible failures with exact degrees.

The “blind spot” is called a physiological finding. This is completely normal and present in everyone. It is the point where the optic nerves exit the back pole of the eye. No photoreceptors are located here.In everyday life the “blind spot” does not strike us and does not affect us in any way.