Can the speed of the eyes blood flow be measured?
The color Doppler is one machine that can look at the speed of blood flow in the vessels behind the eye. Its resolution does not distinguish among the different short posterior ciliary arteries, the ones that we are most concerned about in glaucoma. The machine summarizes the flow of all the short posterior ciliary arteries on the nasal and lateral sides of the optic nerve, showing it as one vessel. If the measured blood velocity is slow, it shows a predisposition to glaucoma, and to vein or retina occlusions. Such machines are usually only available in large ophthalmology departments, especially those with research facilities. Dr.
