The potential of oculokinetic perimetry in glaucoma

Oculokinetic perimetry (OKP) is a new visual field test developed for use in situations in which conventional methods are impractical. As implied by the term ''oculokinetic,'' OKP does not suppress patients' eye movements but rather exploits them in order to locate an inert test stimulus into preselected points in the visual field. The test chart, known as the multi-fixation campimeter, consists of a white screen with a central black test stimulus and a series of strategically placed, numbered fixation targets. As the patient looks at each number in turn, the central stimulus automatically moves through corresponding points in the visual field. Defects are recorded on a miniature version of the chart by crossing out the numbers that are associated with the disappearance of the test stimulus. Clinical studies show that OKP is as sensitive in detecting visual field loss under normal working conditions as conventional methods of perimetry and that results obtained by OKP are highly reproducible. Preliminary observations suggest that a special OKP chart with a smaller set of numbers may be a useful tool for glaucoma screening.