A new instrument for assessing rod function in early AMD

The Visual Sciences Lab at the University of Manchester, has developed an instrument in collaboration with Elektron Technology’s Ophthalmic Division, for the assessment of rod function. The instrument is called RapiDA because it rapidly measures dark adaptation, the recovery of rod sensitivity after a bleach. Rods are the first casualty in early stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Early AMD is characterised by the presence of drusen and it is now thought that these lipoidal deposits impede rod function. Here we describe how the instrument measures the rate of rod sensitivity recovery, called S2, and present the results of a clinical trial which reveals how rods are adversely affected in early AMD.