Abstract

The use of the 30 Hz flicker ERG as a measure of the severity of retinal vascular disorders is very attractive. The subject needs only minimal dark adaptation, the test is easier to perform than most ERG tests, and analysis of the waveform is less complicated than for many other ERG tests. 30 Hz flicker implicit time correlates well with other ERG measures associated with development of neovascularization in diabetic retinopathy and central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). Bresnick and Palta¹ have shown that the 30 Hz flicker implicit time and oscillatory potential implicit times both correlate well with development of high risk characteristics in diabetic retinopathy. Direct comparisons of 30 Hz implicit time with the ERG intensity- response sensitivity parameter, log K (r² = 0.61, p < 0.0001) and with scotopic b-wave implicit time (r² = 0.62, p < 0.004) in a population of 92 CRVO patients² indicate that all of these parameters reflect the underlying pathology that places the eye at risk.

© 1991 Optical Society of America