Can iCare Home tonometer be as reliable as the Reichert 7CR for monitoring IOP when there is CENTRAL vision loss? (ie., if the flashing green light in the iCare, which verifies the eye is properly focused before taking a measurement, is not centrally visible)
Both the Icare HOME and the Reichert 7CR have lights that are seen from the "patient side" of the instrument.
When you look at the Icare HOME with it positioned in front of your eye, you will see a green (or red) LED ring. (It's red if the alignment is not correct.) However, it is not essential that you be able to see this ring clearly (or at all).
Older Icare models such as the TA01i and the Icare ONE did not have this LED ring. Otherwise, they work essentially the same. Seeing the ring makes operation a little easier, but on the models without the LED ring, you become accustomed to aligning the tonometer without that feedback.
There is a learning curve with an Icare (or any handheld tonometer). The LED ring helps ease the learning curve, but in the end, the LED ring is not essential.
... flashing green light in the iCare, which verifies the eye is properly focused...
My Icare doesn't have or do exactly that. Mine has a solid green LED ring around the probe base. It doesn't flash and it doesn't tell you if the eye is properly focused. What it does do is tell you if the Icare is being held at an acceptable angle (as in horizontal to the ground). It's solid red if the angle is not OK. It will also tell you afterwards if the measurement was valid or not. If not, the LED turns red. (It might flash in that case, but I would need to go check... whether it flashes or not is not important to me, so I haven't really paid that quality any attention.)
The Reichert 7CR has some lights that you look at when you are looking into the tonometer to take a measurement. There is one green light in the middle and 4 red lights around it. Some people have trouble seeing those lights. The Reichert 7CR will still work. You just have to look straight ahead and hold your eye steady (i.e., don't look around). It's super easy. It does work even when you cannot see the lights.
I have heard some users express confusion when they try a Reichert 7CR and are not able to see the lights. Apart from the confusion of expecting to see lights and not, in fact, seeing them, it doesn't actually prevent the tonometer from working correctly.
The Reichert 7CR is fully automatic. You simply look straight ahead and it locates your eye and takes the measurement. The process does not require any skill on your part.
The Icare HOME does require some user skill and you should allow yourself enough time to get comfortable using it. If you cannot see the LED ring, give yourself a little more time to get comfortable with the Icare. That's all. It will be fine.
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