Corneal Pachymetry
If you are over 19 years of age, we routinely assess you for glaucoma. This requires us to measure the pressure of the fluid inside of your eye. The method measures how easily the clear dome on the front of your eye (the cornea) is deformed, which gives us an indication of your eye pressure.
Recent studies have shown that the thickness of the cornea may greatly affect the accuracy of these measurements. Research shows that a thicker cornea can cause a pressure reading which is higher than your actual intra-ocular pressure. The opposite may also be true. We can more accurately assess a patient's glaucoma risk or true intra-ocular pressure knowing his or her corneal thickness which is assessed using ultrasound in an instrument called a Pachymeter.
