Plusoptix S16
Amblyopia is one of the most common visual problems of childhood, occurring in as many as 1% to 4% of children.1 It is defined as poor vision caused by abnormal development of visual areas of the brain; if undetected and untreated it can lead to permanent vision impairment.
Unfortunately, less than 40% of children are screened for this condition.2 Causes of amblyopia include strabismus (misalignment of eyes), anisometropia (inequality of vision of both eyes because of refractive errors or astigmatism), cataracts, ptosis, or other factors. Because children do not complain of problems with visual acuity, and affected eyes often appear normal, amblyopia can easily go undetected unless a child has vision screening done routinely at health maintenance examinations.
Vision screening in children aged younger than 3 years in a medical office can be challenging because few children this age can be screened with a vision chart. From age 3 to 5 years, screening is possible with Snellen charts, Tumbling E charts, or picture tests such as Allen Visual Acuity Cards, but this is time consuming and can lead to inconsistent or erroneous results. According to the 2016 guidelines Screening instruments detect amblyopia, high refractive error, and strabismus. I recommend that Instrument-based screening should be performed at age two and repeated at each annual preventive medicine encounter through 7 years of age.
Amblyopia remains treatable until age 7, with rapid decline of effective treatment after this time. The goal of vision screening in infants and young children, therefore, must be the early detection of high severity (magnitude) amblyopia risk factors (ARFs), including moderate or severe astigmatism, anisometropic myopia, high hyperopia, severe strabismus, and opacities in the visual axis, including retinoblastoma or other ocular entities that cause opacities that interfere with transmission of light to and from the retina.
Plusoptix has offers the S16 photoscreener for practices who do not need a portable device. The S16 features a terrific interface that is displayed on a monitor attached to the device. The results can be printed via a network printer and the system keeps track of previous screens. Plusoptix also provides the free plusoptiXconnect software for practices to store, review, print results.
