Eye tests may do more damage than lasers

17 Jun 2002

Screening for eye damage lasers may cause more problems than it finds, believes John Marshall, of St. Thomas' Hospital in London.

Marshall told the first annual meeting of the Optical Radiation Measurement Club at the UK's National Physical Laboratory that the intensity of the light used in screening for laser damage is close to the recommended safety limit. In addition, the full dilation of pupils can block blood flow in the front of the eye and permanent damage may result.

Many companies have responded to the potential risks of working with lasers by screening their employees' eyes. Marshall commented that this is both expensive and ineffective. So far every reported case of laser damage has been identified by the patients rather than through screening.

However, Marshall advises anybody working with blue light or near UV radiation to have colour vision tests. The human eye is particularly susceptible to damage by radiation in this region of the spectrum and prolonged work with blue light can have an affect of colour vision.

SH