title: New instruments for dry eye diagnosis.
abstract: Several non-invasive techniques for dry eye diagnosis have been developed in the past decade. These include quantitative assessment of tear volume, tear film stability, tear dynamics, and integrity of ocular surface epithelium. A combination of meniscometry and interferometry is useful for proving focal dry eye, by confirming whether or not tears at the meniscus have an effect on the ocular surface. Interferometer is also useful to evaluate tear dynamics on soft contact lenses. Fluorophotometry is useful for assessing the severity of dry eye from the view point of corneal epithelial barrier function and measuring the tear turnover rate. Both video-meibography and meibometry are useful for screening meibomian gland dysfunction. The advances in these techniques accumulate knowledge regarding pathophysiology of dry eye and allow precise diagnosis of dry eye. More targeted treatment will become feasible based on the clearer pathophysiology.
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan. nyokoi@ophth.kpu-m.ac.jp
authors: Norihiko
authors: N
authors: Yokoi
authors: Aoi
authors: A
authors: Komuro
authors: Kunio
authors: K
authors: Maruyama
authors: Shigeru
authors: S
authors: Kinoshita
mesh_terms: D019781:Corneal Topography / Q000379:methods; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods; D003941:Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015590:Fluorophotometry / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007368:Interferometry / Q000379:methods