Context Association in Glaucoma Patients Using a Touch Screen.

PRECIS

The results showed that people with glaucoma are able to perform with high accuracy a context-association task on a touch screen. This device could be a new possibility for communication and for clinical assessment.

BACKGROUND

The present study was designed to investigate the ability of patients with glaucoma to use a touch screen to find and associate pictures with limited text.

METHODS

Eighty-four volunteers were recruited in 3 groups and tested binocularly or monocularly. Twenty-eight patients with binocular glaucoma (M=68.5 y) were selected with a visual acuity of 0.4 log MAR or better in each eye and visual field defects, with a mean deviation equal to or less than -6 dB in each eye. Twenty-eight age-matched controls (M=68.8 y) and 28 young controls (M=22.1 y) were also recruited (normal acuity; exclusion of ocular disease). The participants had to associate, by moving their index on a 22″ touch screen, a target on the unique scene (between 3 other distractor images) with a consistent background related to the target (eg, to match a fish with the sea).

RESULTS

The performances of the glaucomatous patients were significantly (P<0.01) impaired in monocular vision compared with binocular vision with regard to the exploration duration (+2 s), accuracy (-3% of correct response), and peak speed (-10 cm/s). However, with binocular vision, representing daily life conditions, exploration duration, deviation, movement duration, peak speed, and accuracy were not affected by glaucoma, as demonstrated by comparison with the age-matched group.

CONCLUSIONS

People with glaucoma are able to perform with high accuracy a context-association task on a touch screen. Many applications involving touch screen devices should provide new tools with limited text to help patients with visual disabilities.