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Buy A Tonometer Through FitEyes.com
UPDATE: we have an exciting announcement coming soon. If you want to know about it now, please email me.
For those of you who have been thinking about joining our self-tonometry program and purchasing a tonometer, I want to let you know that we can help you purchase your tonometer. This is done through an exclusive arrangement supported by a glaucoma patient who has been a benefactor to the FitEyes community from the earliest days. His company has arranged for our self-tonometry group to receive large discounts on tonometers (through an exclusive arrangement with a top tonometer manufacturer).
I love my new Reichert 7CR
First of all, from the bottom of my heart, I have to thank Dave for leading me to my purchase of the Reichert 7CR; what a fantastic instrument!
Several years ago, my ophthalmologist said that I probably had what is called "normal pressure" glaucoma; my pressure was usually 15-16 whenever he checked me, and the highest he ever recorded was 19 on my right eye. He told me to find a glaucoma specialist, so I did.
I went to the specialist for a couple of years, but several things discouraged me from continuing to see him. I found another ophthalmologist; she was somewhat younger and, I thought, perhaps less apt to be running a Speede Oil Change type of service, to see how many people she could get through her clinic in a day. She was a bit better at the latter, but she refused to give me a prescription for a tonometer. I left her and quickly acquired a tonometer prescription; and by the way, the requirement for a prescription for a non-contact tonometer is as silly as the need for me to have a real estate broker's license to sell real estate, or for a city to have building inspectors.
Are handheld or portable tonometers appropriate for home eye pressure monitoring?
In any tonometer (based on today's technology), you can have some, but not all of, the following:
- ease of use
- accuracy (reliability and validity of data)
- low cost
- portability
People tend to give a priority to portability and low cost. New products aimed at this feature set have recently been announced. Does it make sense to utilize those devices for self-tonometry?
We have to agree that any trade off that doesn't include reliability and validity of IOP data invalidates the whole endeavor of self-tonometry. Not only is it meaningless to do it if the data is not of sufficient quality upon which to make important decisions, but it could actually be detrimental to do self-tonometry in that case.
With today's technologies, portability entails user-alignment (in the context of self-tonometry). Proper user-alignment to produce a valid measurement, by definition, depends upon user skill as well as various specific conditions of each measurement. User-alignment, regardless of the tonometer, is difficult! (User-alignment is defined as the operator of the tonometer having to align the tonometer with the eye manually. Alignment is a very precise process requiring a steady hand, good eyesight, training and practice.)
Therefore, the requirement of user-alignment conflicts with the requirement of reliability and validity of IOP data. We cannot guarantee reliability and validity of IOP data when variable user skills are required to produce that data.
If any decent ophthalmologist or scientist (or intelligent thinker) considers a set of IOP data, they must consider how the data was obtained. If patient skill played a critical role in producing that data, as it does when user-alignment is required, the clear thinking person will immediately discount that data. Therefore, the self-tonometrist's efforts may not produce much of value.
Leading Medical Specialists From Around the World Coalesce Around Self-Tonometry
Leading Medical Specialists Support Self-Monitoring of Eye Pressure by Glaucoma Patients;
Self-tonometry has Potential to Transform Glaucoma Treatment, Says Co-Author of Recent Journal Article
Growing recognition among leading ophthalmologists and glaucoma specialists of an alternative option for measuring pressure in the eye may offer new hope for four million Americans – and millions more people worldwide – who risk permanent blindness, says a co-author of a recent article in the Survey of Ophthalmology.
Home Eye Pressure Monitoring Recommended
Millions of people around the world should be monitoring their eye pressure (intraocular pressure) at home, according to health organizations (such as International Society for Self-Tonometry (ISST)) that are issuing recommendations on what to do and how to do it. Many experts, such as Dr. Graham Lee, feel the evidence is quite strong that home eye pressure monitoring leads to better control of intraocular pressure, and the evidence is quite strong that intraocular pressure control lowers the risk of glaucoma progression and optic nerve cell death.
Ocular Pulse Wave Example
This is what eye pressure (IOP) looks like in real time:
Please ask questions and I'll answer them.
Tonometer rental program?
I am thinking about renting a tonometer to monitor my eye pressure at home. Can anyone tell me more about the option to rent a tonometer.
How to travel Unlock Reichert AT555
Hello
Actually I have lost the user manul for AT555.Now the unit is accidently travel locked.
Can anyone please explain how to unlock it?
Thanks in anticipation!
Preview of the Icare ONE handheld tonometer for home eye pressure monitoring
My evaluation Icare ONE tonometer arrived today. I will compare it to:
* Icare TA01i
* Reichert 7CR Tonometer
* Pascal Dynamic Contour Tonometer
* Ocular Response Analyzer
* Reichert AT555 Tonometer
* maybe another one or two tonometers...
Look for a full review in the near future on FitEyes.com. UPDATE: I have decided not to publish my review of the Icare ONE at this time. Please read Are handheld or portable tonometers appropriate for home eye pressure monitoring?
Let me offer an analogy. If I were reviewing golf clubs, I would not include a review of a baseball bat. A baseball bat is not appropriate for playing golf. During the process of evaluating the Icare ONE, I came to a broader conclusion about all handheld tonometer and their appropriateness for self-tonometry (home eye pressure monitoring). Therefore, I feel it is better to have that general discussion first. You can read my thoughts here: Are handheld or portable tonometers appropriate for home eye pressure monitoring?
There is a related discussion on the Icare ONE here: New iCare ONE Tonometer Designed for Home Eye Pressure Monitoring
For now, here are some pictures of my evaluation Icare ONE tonometer.
Just arriving via FedEx (below). Some tonometers it will be evaluated against are shown in the background.
Are air puff tonometers only for initial diagnosis or early warning?
i was always under the impression that the "puff air"
type tonometers were OK for initial diagnosis/early
warning indicators but
that real, true, accurate readings required
the contact tonometers
Where to get a Tonometer?
Hello, My husband Blake was diagnosed with Glaucoma about a year ago and we are currently searching for an affordable IOP measurement device he can use at home. Can you tell me where we might get one? Also, do you have an advice on the best model? If there are any studies, such as that described in the forum, he would be happy to take part. Kindest regards, Natina
EDIT: the replies below need to be updated for 2010. Please contact FitEyes directly before deciding which tonometer to purchase. See contact info below, or here: Contact
Can we estimate our eye pressure with our finger?
I am trying right now to get a feel of my pressure by just touchng the eyes with my index fingers. I can tell if it's high or low but I would like to become very accurate with the help of a tonometer. Which one do you recommend and what the difference in mg with for example a Goldman, Thanks.
Accurate home tonometers
Hi,
I just found your blog -- it is quite interesting. I have pigmentary glaucoma diagnosed ten years ago.
Here is my second question: Are there any accurate HOME tonometers out there that don't cost a fortune?
Thank you,
DB
The Comfort I Get From Monitoring My Eye Pressure
With the recent website upgrade to FitEyes.com, I decided to send an email to all registered member. While writing the email I was inspired to discuss more of my experiences with self-tonometry, the process of monitoring my own eye pressure. After I wrote and sent the email, I realized that we have a lot of visitors to FitEyes.com who are not registered and who would not be able to see the experiences and thoughts I shared with the registered members. Therefore, because I feel very passionate about the benefits of self-tonometry, I decided to post the entire email on my blog. Here it is (and now it is updated to reflect recent events such as my grandmother's most recent birthday).
Hi Everyone - I just upgraded the FitEyes.com website. It has been a long, long time since I have sent an email to all members. FitEyes has continued to grow and flourish in recent months. I want to take this opportunity to invite you to visit the new website and let me know what you think. Not only will you see a new design and new features, you will find lots of new content (some of it potentially controversial).
New Website Features
You will see that FitEyes.com has many new features. It is running on open source software now. (For you techies, the operating system is open source too: Ubuntu Linux.) You can form friendships and communicate privately with other FitEyes members. There are lots of other new features, so please explore and try them out.
Self-Monitoring Eye Pressure
It is my strong belief that almost every glaucoma patient or glaucoma suspect (or anyone with elevated intraocular pressure) will benefit greatly from self-tonometry. The practice of frequently monitoring your own eye pressure in your daily life will be universal in the future -- just as monitoring blood sugar is a normal part of managing diabetes today.
New iCare ONE Tonometer Designed for Home Eye Pressure Monitoring
This is the new iCare ONE tonometer designed for home eye pressure monitoring (self-tonometry). Click the image for a larger view.
New tonometers designed for self-tonometry coming soon
Next month will see the introduction of an exciting new tonometer designed specifically for self-tonometry. I like what I have seen so far. After the product is released we plan to evaluate it and, of course, we will keep you informed via FitEyes.com.
How To Measure Your Eye Pressure At Home And Change the World Too!
I'd like to share my thoughts and experiences with you. I believe that monitoring my eye pressure closely has been invaluable for me. I also monitor a lot of other things, but intraocular pressure is still considered the most important risk factor in glaucoma. And I believe intraocular pressure is misunderstood. Therefore, we, the community of glaucoma patients, have two important opportunities in regard to monitoring our intraocular pressure right now.
- First, we can improve the management of our own glaucoma and give ourselves better odds for maintaining good vision. On this blog I discuss many examples of how monitoring my own eye pressure closely has helped with the management of my glaucoma. This has been a good thing for me, so I'm enthusiastic about sharing my experiences. In fact, my experiences with monitoring my own eye pressure led me to get involved in intraocular pressure research and I am now collaborating with one of the most respected scientists in this field.
- Second, by doing closer monitoring of our eye pressure and then sharing that data, we might be paving the way to insights that benefit many other glaucoma patients. One example is the discussion about how Weight Lifting Lowers My Eye Pressure and another is my Postural Changes and Eye Pressure. The best example may be the connection between stress and intraocular pressure. Those of us who are doing high-frequency intraocular pressure monitoring in conjunction with the research projects FitEyes.com is promoting are helping advance medicine's understanding of eye pressure.
Best Tonometers For Home Use Self-Tonometry
In my experience the best tonometers for home use (a.k.a., self-tonometry) are the Reichert AT555 and the Tiolat iCare. Of these the Reichert is much easier to use.
Today, miller13 said,
Had the proview: it never worked :(
I say that's no surprise! Thanks for reporting your experience.
miller13 also asked some questions about which tonometers are suitable for self-tonometry.
Now looking at the Diaton.You say No??
Is the Reichert an air puff tonometer?
Developing a Tiny Wireless Sensor to Monitor Glaucoma Around the Clock
The original article is found on the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) website. HHMI investigator Simon W. M. John shares our perspective on intraocular pressure monitoring. He recognizes that intraocular pressure can vary quite a lot even in one day and that the value of measuring intraocular pressure only twice a year, as is typically done in practice, is very limited.
