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  • Successful Home Monitoring of Glaucoma With a Home Tonometer and VF Device

    By Jean Shaw
    Selected by Henry D. Jampel, MD, MHS
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    Journal Highlights

    Ophthalmology Glaucoma, March/April 2023

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    Hu et al. assessed patients’ acceptance of—and ability to use—a home tonom­eter and visual field device to monitor their glaucoma at home. They found that the patients found the two tools helpful and easy to use.

    For this prospective feasibility and acceptability study, the researchers evaluated 20 patients (39 eyes) with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), ocular hypertension, or suspected glaucoma. Two-thirds of the patients were women, and their mean age was 55.4 years (range, 25-83). The participants were trained on the iCare Home to­nometer (HT) and Virtual Field (VF) devices. They then took the HT and VF devices home for one week and were instructed to use the HT four times a day for four days and to use the VF three times during the week.

    Feasibility was assessed by device usage and the quality of the test results. Acceptability was assessed via a 35-item satisfaction survey as well as by structured interviews with a thematic analysis.

    The HT is a handheld rebound tonometer used for self-monitoring of IOP. Most of the participants (73.7%) found it easy to use, and all found it useful. The VF is a mobile visual field test that uses a head-mounted virtual reality headset. All of the patients found it easy to use, and the majority (94.4%) found it useful.

    All patients obtained acceptable IOP measurements and successfully com­pleted a VF test at home. During the interviews, the researchers identified four key themes:

    • advantages of home monitoring, such as accessibility, convenience, and patient empowerment;
    • challenges posed by home monitor­ing, including technology concerns and loss of patient-physician interaction;
    • future considerations for home monitoring, including patient selection; and
    • patient-reported experience of hav­ing glaucoma, including IOP anxiety, fear of blindness, and test anxiety.

    The HT is already FDA-approved for home monitoring. Additional studies are needed to demonstrate the validity of the patient-administered VF device, the authors wrote.

    The original article can be found here.