Within the optical industry there are several professions and medicinal levels of enquiry which require top quality optical equipment. These can be concerned with research and production, but most are concerned with delivering a service to the consumer. Optometrists and ophthalmologists, for example, cannot carry out examinations, prescriptions and treatments without the help of a significant number of machines, tools, and other optical goods.
Uses
Your eye specialist uses a number of tests to determine whether you need any vision aids to help with your sight. Some of the tests, such as measuring vision at close and far distances, studying refraction, and measuring stereopsis, visual fields, and colour vision, all require hardware (and these days some computer software) to carry out the examination.
Specialty magnifiers such as ophthalmoloscopes, slit-lamp biomicroscopes, flexible fibroscopes and provision borescopes are vital tools for any eye specialist to ably diagnose any vision problems. They may also use lux meters, phonometers, transilluminators, and other gauges.
Examinations
A short eye examination could consist of vision tests (using vision charts and machines), trials of lenses, examination of refraction (with phoropters and retinoscopes), and tests of eye movement and alignment (with occluders or prism bars). Nowadays, eye doctors also rely on computerized technology – tonometers, visual field analyzers, and optical coherence tomography are examples of recent advances.
Furthermore, if your specialist needs to carry out surgical treatment, they will also rely upon other items such as lasers and incision tools.