[Diagnosis of glaucoma using fundus spectrometry in areas outside the papilla]

As a result of the statistical evaluation of spectra on the basis of discriminant analysis, it can be stated that spectrometric measurements on fundus areas are suited for glaucoma diagnosis also outside the papilla. For early recognition of glaucoma, measurements of the papillomacular bundle are more sensitive than measurements in the parapapillary region. Late stages of glaucoma and normal findings are most reliably separated by measurements in the parapapillary region. With increasing severity of the glaucoma, the spectrum of the macular pigment can be demonstrated in the papillomacular bundle. A spectrometrically recognizable lack of erythrocytes documents an impaired retinal microcirculation.