visualFields easy app may screen for visual field deficits

DENVER — visualFields easy, an iPad-based free application, may help perform visual field screening of diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, according to a presentation here.

In a presentation at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting, Chris A. Johnson, PhD, and colleagues determined the spatial characteristics and frequency of visual field deficits in more than 400 eyes in Kathmandu, Nepal, using the visualFields easy app.

The number of missed fixation points and missed test locations of the visualFields easy app correlated well with results from a standard peripheral vision test procedure.

In control subjects vs. patients with diabetic retinopathy, there was no difference in the frequency of visual field deficits in different quadrants. There were approximately twice as many locations outside normal limits compared with the screening test, but mild deficits were not detected by the screening procedure, the study said.

In eyes with glaucoma, there was a slightly greater proportion of visual deficits for the nasal visual field, but the screening procedure did not show this difference, the study said.

“Our findings indicate that rapid and accurate screening for eye disease can be achieved using this iPad screening procedure,” the study authors said. “This appears to be beneficial for eye care in developing countries and may also be useful for routine screening in developed countries.”

To further the use of the visualFields easy app, the next step will be to reduce the number of fixation points, reduce testing time, reduce false positive rates, add a USB response button and implement a head tracking camera system, Johnson said. - by Kristie L. Kahl

Disclosure: Johnson reports no relevant financial disclosures.