Computerized diagnostic instruments for ophthalmic practice.
The microprocessor, the so-called "computer-on-a-chip," is providing automation of many of our diagnostic instruments, including refractors, keratometers, lensmeters, and perimeters. Microprocessors can monitor switches, control lights, drive motors, and perform complex mathematical calculations in a fraction of a second. These capabilities promise a standardization of measurement never before possible. Clinical tests will soon not only use instruments controlled by computers, but the tests themselves will be administered by computers. Cost:benefit ratios are decreasing as this new technology becomes an expected part of ophthalmic practice.
D003201:Computers / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D008838:Microcomputers / Q000191:economics / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012029:Refraction, Ocular; D014481:United States; D058609:Visual Field Tests / Q000295:instrumentation