DICOM PS3.17 2020a - Explanatory Information |
Page 475 |
Fixation Monitor: |
Blind Spot |
Fixation Target: |
Central |
Fixation Losses: |
0/12 |
False POS Errors: |
1% |
False NEG Errors: |
0% |
Test Duration: |
04:00 |
Figure DDD.2-3. Information Related to Test Reliability
Anothermeansofassessingthereliabilityofthetestistocountbothfalsepositiveandfalsenegativeresponses.Falsepositivesoccur when the subject presses the button either in response to no stimulus or in response to a stimulus with intensity significantly below one they had not detected previously. False negatives are recorded when the patient fails to respond to stimulus significantly more intense than one they had previously seen. Taken together, fixation losses, false positives, and false negatives provide an indication of the quality of the test.
The next phase of visual field interpretation is to assess for the presence of disease. The first aspect of the visual field data used here are the raw sensitivity values. These are usually expressed as a function of the amount of attenuation that could be applied to the maximum possible stimulus such that the patient could still see it when displayed. Since a value is available at each point tested in the visual field, these values can be represented either as raw values or as a graphical map.
Figure DDD.2-4. Sample Output from an Automated VF Machine Including Raw Sensitivity Values (Left, Larger Numbers are Better) and an Interpolated Gray-Scale Image
Because the raw intensity values can be affected by a number of factors including age and other non-optic nerve problems including refractive error or any opacity along the visual axis (cornea, lens, vitreous), it is helpful to also evaluate some corrected values. One set of corrected intensity values is usually some indication of the difference of each tested point from its expected value based on patient age. Another set of corrected intensity values, referred to as "Pattern deviation or "Corrected comparison" are normalized for age and also have a value subtracted from the deviation at each test point, which is estimated to be due to diffuse visual field loss This latter set is useful for focal rather than diffuse defects in visual function. In the case of glaucoma and most other optic nerve disease, clinicians are more interested in focal defects so this second set of normalized data is useful.