The patient is automatically moved head first into the CT gantry, and the x-ray tomogram is acquired. Now the patient is automatically moved through the PET gantry, which is mounted in parallel with the CT gantry, and the PET slices are acquired. The patient may now leave the device, and the PET-CT software starts reconstructing and aligning the PET and CT images.
Diagnostic Procedures. Three common diagnostic procedures, tonometry, visual field tests, and ophthalmoscopy, enable ophthalmologists to screen patients for glaucoma. To make a definitive diagnosis, ophthalmologists often use all 3 procedures as part of an overall eye examination. The procedures are simple, relatively quick, and virtually painless.
The most common type performed for open-angle glaucoma is called trabeculoplasty. This procedure takes between 10 and 15 minutes, is painless, and can be performed in either a doctor's office or an outpatient facility. The laser beam (a high energy light beam) is focused upon the eye's drain.