Microperimetry is a type of visual field test which uses one of several technologies to create a “retinal sensitivity map” of the quantity of light perceived in specific parts of the retina. Visual field testing is widely used to monitor pathologies affecting the periphery of vision such as glaucoma. During a conventional visual field test, patients are asked to look steadily ahead at a visual target while small lights are projected at varying intensities in different locations to examine the peripheral vision. By contrast, microperimetry examines the very center of the retina (the macula) in great detail. It combines fundus imaging and retinal sensitivity mapping in one examination and is a powerful tool to detect, describe and monitor conditions that affect the macular area.
