Autorefractor is a very helpful and time saving device which gives a rough idea of the level of refractive errors which the patient suffers. It is not 100% accurate and the optometrist will have to do the normal refraction work but still it narrows the range in which the optometrist has to work. It is very useful in patients who are verbally compromised or are un-cooperative. There are separate Autorefractor for pediatric patients which can be used from a distance of 1 meter. Autorefractors helps to give quick and fair readings of the amount of refractive errors in a patient. The instrument is basically used to measure refractive errors in both myopia and Hypermetropia patients. The patient is required to peer into an objective which features a series of moving images. The refractive path of the light in the eyes of the patient is measured. After the measurement is made it is the job of the computer to calculate the extent of the refractive errors and give the result. The diagnostic equipment give a probable range of readings from which the optometrist a fair idea of the range in which the manual refractory tests are to be considered.
Autorefractor is a very useful tool to speed up the process of testing refractive errors. This is important especially in less developed countries where charitable eye camps are set up and a large number of patients have to be checked and corrective lenses prescribed. Autorefractors is an essential diagnostic tool in any eye specialist’s inventory. The appointment with any eye specialist starts inevitably with an Autorefractor test and gives a fair idea of the refractive errors of the patient before going on to other gadgets like the keratometer to check if the patient is not suffering with astigmatism.
It must be understood that the results which are given by the refraction measuring appliance is only a starting point. Further refracting tests are carried out by the optometrist to pin point the exact degree of refractory error. Once this has been calculated, it becomes easy for the eye specialist to prescribe the power of the corrective lens which has to be worn by the patient for a period of time before the power of the lens changes again due to the changes in the body. There are two common errors, myopia which requires diverging lenses and is most commonly seen in young patients. The second is Hypermetropia which requires a converging lens to correct the defect.