Children’s visual acuity test without professional supervision
Reviewed by Ivan Yip

With increasing outpatient demand there has been an innovative shift to involve patients managing their own condition. This article compares visual testing carried out by an orthoptist with usual clinical methods, an orthoptist using the iSIGHT Test Pro and a parent unsupervised administering the iSIGHT test to their child. These were carried out in one clinic appointment in that order. The parent was told how to use the app but no feedback was given on their technique. There were 42 children with mean age of five years and seven months in clinic for amblyopia therapy. There was significant difference between the parent testing and the standard test (p=0.008). There was no difference between orthoptist standard test and iSIGHT test nor any difference between the orthoptist and parent using the iSIGHT test. Parents testing yielded worse visual acuity and the authors conclude that in its current form at home, testing is not feasible. Mitigating factors included parents testing last. Other issues could include lack of equipment particularly in lower socioeconomic classes, cluttered home environments, and low parental take up.

Children’s visual acuity tests without professional supervision: a prospective repeated measures study.
Osborne D, Steele A, Evans M, et al.
EYE
2023;37(18):3762–7.