New Device Combines Several Dry Eye Diagnostics in One

Clinicians who manage dry eye need to visualize, quantify and document the status of the tear film and relevant ocular structures, ideally in a noninvasive fashion. Streamlining that process was a goal Topcon had when it developed a new device the company calls the Tera Dry Eye Imager, according to a press release. The multimodal instrument captures tear meniscus height, noninvasive tear break-up time, blink analysis, lipid layer metrics, meibography images, corneal topography scans, corneal wavefront data, pupillometry findings, fluorescein imaging and anterior segment photography. Ordinarily, these capabilities would require use of several different devices. The Tera Dry Eye Imager from Topcon can capture (top to bottom) meibomian gland imaging, noninvasive tear break-up time, lipid later interferometry, anterior segment photography and fluorescein imaging, as well as pupillometry, corneal topography and wavefront aberrometry data. Photo: Topcon. Click image to enlarge. Tera’s all-in-one approach allows practices to delegate dry eye pretesting with greater confidence, according to Topcon, by simplifying and standardizing many elements of the work-up at one station. The press release touts Tera’s one-touch image capture with auto-alignment and focus and its guided focus tools for meibography and tear meniscus imaging. The rotatable monitor the tech uses can be operated from either side of the patient, improving ergonomics and optimizing pretest space, the release states.Interestingly, the device also documents subjective findings reported by the patient as well, Topcon says. The OSDI-6 patient questionnaire advocated by the TFOS DEWS III diagnostic report is integrated into Tera. Several validated imaging grading scales incorporated into the software can promote consistent assessments and can help patients better understand their condition, Topcon says.