Orthoptists are university-trained allied health professionals who specialise in paediatric eye assessments, binocular vision and ocular movement disorders. An orthoptist will commonly assess children with vision or eye-related issues, as well as adults with double vision. Aside from diagnosing and conducting investigations into these conditions, they also provide management plans, which may include amblyopia treatment, prism fittings, and the use of Bangerter foils. Some orthoptists will specialise in other areas such as general ophthalmology, driving assessments, low vision rehabilitation, education or clinical research.
Orthoptist can work in a number of different settings, including hospitals, private practices, low vision services, community health, clinical research centres, universities, or even retail (e.g. sales of ophthalmic devices/instruments).
Orthoptists can perform (but are not limited to) the following:
- Vision testing
- Cover testing
- Strabismus measurements
- Ocular motility assessment
- Fusion range measurements
- Stereoacuity testing
- Tests for suppression / binocular single vision
- Accommodation testing
- Synoptophore assessment
- Hess chart
- Goldmann perimetry
- Field of binocular vision assessment
- Convergence training
- Accommodation exercises
- Amblyopia treatment
- Fresnel prism fittings
- Bangerter foil fittings