Indications

Determination of diastolic and systolic blood pressure in the central artery makes it possible to draw conclusions

• about blood pressure in the central vessels of the retina
• about blood pressure in the ophthalmic artery where it branches into the central retinal artery
• about blood pressure in the internal carotid artery
• about systemic blood pressure.

The diagnostic significance of ophthalmodynamometry to date has been to the fore when stenoses of the internal carotid artery with haemodynamic effects are present. Now, for the first time, the contact lens dynamometer offers an opportunity of measuring blood pressure in the eye within a few seconds. Even with a prototype of the new dynamometer a large number of patients with high blood pressure could be diagnosed in ophthalmologic practice in the context of glaucoma care and given appropriate treatment. This aspect of ophthalmodynamometry is new and significant for preventative medicine.

Determination of central venous pressure is significant in cases of

• Branch or central vein occlusion
• Arterio-venous fistulae of the cavernous sinus
• Endocrine orbitopathy
• Elevated intracerebral pressure

In endocrine orbitopathy central venous pressure is increased by elevated orbital tissue pressure, in elevated intracranial pressure by the anatomical peculiarity of the path taken by the vein in the optic nerve. Because the optic nerve is surrounded by cerebral fluid, when intracranial pressure is elevated pressure on the confluent vein is subsequently increased. Measurement of central venous pressure with the contact lens dynamometer offers an opportunity for non-invasive determination of intracranial pressure.