Our New Gadgets and Gizmos

For a long time now I have been wanting to do a blog on the new cool things that have been brought to our office. As our practice grows we have the opportunity to find more ways to accommodate and help our patients. One way we stay up to date is through technology. Today I am going to talk about two technological ways we are making what we do better!

First up: Sanet Vision Integrator (SVI). This 46” touch screen monitor is designed to improve visual abilities for a wide range of patients with visually-related learning problems, strabismus, amblyopia, and traumatic brain injury (TBI). It is also very effective for sports vision enhancement work with athletes.

The key features that make this “all in one” instrument so useful are the variety of programs and many ways that visual abilities can be enhanced. The SVI instrument actually “speaks”, instructing the patient to respond to verbal commands, improving auditory-visual integration and memory. The SVI can be used to enhance the following visual abilities: Pursuits, saccades, fixation stability, eye-hand coordination, visual reaction time, speed and span of recognition, automaticity, and contrast sensitivity, plus visual and auditory sequencing and memory. In addition it is extremely effective when working with visual acuity improvement in patients with amblyopia, TBI patients with visual field loss, visual-spatial neglect, and visual-vestibular integration problems, and with patients with rhythm, reading, and math problems.

As you can see, it is a great asset to our Vision Therapy Program. Click here for video demonstrations.

Next: Diopsys^® NOVA-VEP. This test called Visual Evoked Potential (VEP) objectively measures the functional responses of the entire visual pathway from the anterior segment of the eye to the visual cortex. By using VEP, the device provides quantitative information to support the interpretation and management of eye and vision deficits, and reports and documents the results of practitioner intervention for tracking patients’ response. It is easy to use, non-invasive, and provides a quick qualitative analysis of the VEP waveform and easy quantitative analysis of the amplitude (strength) and latency (speed) values. We test children six months of age and older, patients with a degenerative process such as glaucoma or multiple sclerosis (MS), or patients following a neurological event like traumatic brain injury (TBI) or stroke in order to help the clinician detect visual deficits such as optic nerve disorders, amblyopia, and other neuro-visual disorders.

In easier terms it is measuring the communication between your eyes and the brain. Isn't that our goal with Vision Therapy?! Now we have a test that shows us the wavelengths of the brain activity through both eyes. This test can also show the effectiveness Vision Therapy has of each patient. WOW!

As you can see these are two tests to be very excited about. Thankful we have the opportunity to provide our patients with the best up-to-date technology.

Lastly, another new thing is Optometric Physicians of Middle Tennessee has a twitter! If you would like to follow click here.

Thanks for all the followers and readers, we appreciate you!