1. Blind Spot Mapping - 1. PC software - 1. Free Instructions
blind spot mapping - PC based software - free how to perform testmapping-how to-PC based software-free how to map
Welcome to Physiologic 

Blind Spot Mapping

If you have been introduced to performing physiological blind spot mapping on patients, I think you will find this site very interesting and hopefully very informative. For those that don't know what blind spot mapping is or what it can mean, I have described this in other areas of this site.

I was introduced to the concept that the size of the perceived blind spot is dynamic and not a static, fixed anatomical structure (optic disc), by Dr. Ted Carrick in the early 1990s.

In those days, we would map blind spots manually with pen and paper.  With practice and a compliant patient, blind spot maps could be roughly calculated in 3-4 minutes or longer.

There was no standardization to assure that the tests were performed exactly the same way each time. 

This made reliability of the serially generated data somewhat suspect.

After manually measuring blind spots for a year or so, I became interested in trying to find a way to standardize the manual technique by fixing the head at a standard distance from the focal target fixation spot.

I developed and produced a wall mounted device that would raise and lower the blind spot mapping screen to accommodate the range of patient's heights encountered in my patient population.  This wall mounted device had a forehead fixation shield that insured that the patient's head would remain fixed at the same distance from the target fixation spot, each and every time.

After using this manual wall mounted blind spot mapping station for several years, I wanted to find a way to insure that the actual technique for measuring blind spots was standardized.  While the technique for manually mapping blind spots was well structured, I found it challenging for staff members to perform the test exactly the same each and every time they tested patients.

I thought that it would be possible to standardize the actual technique by computerizing the test.

After an intense year of research, development and programming, the first personal computer based software program was born.  It quickly and accurately calculated the size of patient's blind spots.  It was reproducible by clinicians, staff and patients.

The unique aspect of this PC software program is that after a short learning curve, patients can map their own blind spots in about 2 minutes.  The computer automatically calculates the surface area of each blind spot and prints out a hard copy. 

Additional research, development and several years later, the "New Generation"  software program arrived!  It has added features of a data base to store prior tests. Visual modifications provide the ability to overlap one blind spot on the other for easy comparison.