Development of an Improved Digital Glare Testing Device

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): As the popularity of refractive surgery increases, so does the need for an accurate evaluation tool for glare assessment in both the pre- and post-surgical patient. There are several glare disability testing instruments currently available, however, these instruments do not accurately recreate physiologic conditions in the eye in the presence of glare. Based on the need for improved instrumentation that assesses visual performance without changing the optical parameters of the eye, InterScience proposes the development of glare disability assessment instrumentation, based on the digital micromirror array technology. The actual means of assessment will not differ from established procedures, i.e. testing visual acuity with established vision charts (IogMAR, Landolt ring, etc.) under various lighting conditions including glare. The goal of this work is to increase the flexibility in glare testing through the development of improved instrumentation. The proposed effort is aimed at the design, development, and demonstration of a digital glare testing device. The adaptability and flexibility of the device, including the presentation of dynamic glare sources, numerous contrast levels in test charts, programmable variations in size, intensity and location of the glare source, and a user friendly computer control system will be successfully demonstrated in the Phase I work.