Detection of glaucoma: the role of new functional and structural tests

It is thought that our current techniques for investigating open-angle glaucoma may not be the most sensitive ones for the earliest detection of the disease. Newly developed psychophysical and imaging techniques may have an important role in clinical practice. This review outlines some of the issues involved in adopting these techniques.

To date there are many cross-sectional studies that report on the sensitivity and specificity characteristics of these techniques based on our current definitions of open-angle glaucoma. There are a limited number of studies available that show the efficacy of the new techniques for the early detection of open-angle glaucoma.

More longitudinal studies are now needed to demonstrate that the new techniques that are being adopted in clinical practice can detect glaucoma earlier. More importantly, studies are required to prove that early treatment in individuals detected with these new techniques makes a meaningful impact on the patients' prognosis.