What is RNFL test?

RNFL analysis is an extremely helpful tool for the management of glaucoma patients. It can be used in conjunction with other examination findings and diagnostic imaging tools to diagnose early or preperimetric cases, and the quantitative nature of these measurements is useful for monitoring disease progression.

How is RNFL measured?

RNFL thickness is measured on a cross-sectional retinal image sampled along a 3.4-mm diameter circle centered on the optic nerve head (ONH).

What is normal RNFL?

Average RNFL thickness indicates a patient’s overall RNFL health. The mean value for RNFL thickness in the general population is 92.9 +/- 9.4 microns. Typically, a normal, nonglaucomatous eye has an RNFL thickness of 80 microns or greater. An eye with an average RNFL thickness of 70 to 79 is suspicious for glaucoma.

Can glaucoma be treated without surgery?

Though severe cases of glaucoma may require surgical care to treat, early onset glaucoma can usually be treated non-surgically through prescription medicines, including pills, eye drop, and injections.

Where is the RNFL thickest?

inferior disc pole
Conclusions: In normal eyes, the RNFL shows a double hump configuration with its thinnest part at the temporal disc pole, followed by the nasal disc pole and the superior disc pole. RNFL is thickest at the inferior disc pole.

What is the OCT test for glaucoma?

Optical coherence topography (OCT) tests obtain a topographical map of the optic nerve, using non-invasive light waves to take cross-section pictures of the retina. An OCT test measures the thickness of the nerve fiber layer, which is the portion of the optic nerve most vulnerable to eye pressure elevation.

How is RNFL used to diagnose glaucoma?

Structural changes in glaucoma can be detected with different imaging tools, including optical coherence tomography (OCT). Although OCT analyses of macular and optic nerve neuroretinal rim thickness have become increasingly popular in recent years, RNFL analysis has been the benchmark of OCT imaging in glaucoma since its inception.

Which is RNFL measurement is most reproducible?

RNFL thickness measurements are highly reproducible, especially when acquired with spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) instruments.

How is RNFL thickness measured with SPECTRALIS Oct?

The various devices measure RNFL thickness in slightly different ways. In the Spectralis OCT, it’s measured directly with a 3.46-mm diameter circular scan centered on the optic disc. In the case of the Cirrus OCT, the measurement of RNFL is generated from a 6 mm 3 cube scan centered on the optic disc.

How is RNFL loss related to visual field defects?

This patient has superior rim thinning (A and B) with correlating RNFL loss on OCT testing (C and D). This corresponds to associated inferior paracentral and nasal visual field defects with variable central defects in both eyes (D and E).