Pupillometry in Diseases of the Retina and Optic Nerve

Changes in pupillary reflex parameters depend on the state of the visual analyzer and nervous system. Pupillometry is an accurate and easy-to-use method for diagnosing pupillary reflex, which can detect pathology at the preclinical level. An analysis of literary sources showed that scientists around the world are interested in changes in pupil parameters in patients with various ophthalmological pathologies: pigment retinitis, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, central retinal vein occlusion, optic neuritis, and ischemic optic neuropathy. Determined that when the ganglion complex and nerve fibers of the retina and the optic nerve head are affected, pupillary reaction dysfunction occurs in various ophthalmological diseases. The severity of changes in pupillometry parameters is comparable to the severity of damage to the retina and optic nerve, which is confirmed by optical coherence tomography protocols. Scientists also took into account the fact that rods, cones, and ganglion cells have different activation thresholds and differ in reaction properties, so to assess their function, they proposed using stimuli of different colors and different intensities, which contributed to the emergence of such a diagnostic method as chromatic pupillometry. Color stimuli were also used to study pupillary response in optic nerve diseases; scientists noted differences in pupillary reflex parameters when exposed to red or blue stimuli. Studying the possibility of using pupillometry as an effective screening method in diagnosing ophthalmological diseases is a promising scientific direction.