Development and Validation of a Web-Based Reading Test for Normal and Low Vision Patients

Abstract

Purpose To develop and validate a web-based reading test for normal and low vision patients. Methods This is a prospective, comparative trial. The web-based Democritus Digital Acuity Reading Test (wDDART) was developed. wDDART introduces a series of advanced characteristics (advanced text calibration, computer-vision-based estimation of patient’s distance, and automatic calculation of patient’s reading times) that facilitate the overall examination procedure. wDDART’s reading parameters [reading acuity (RA), maximum reading speed (MRS), critical print size (CPS) and reading accessibility index (ACC)] were compared to the corresponding ones of its conventional Windows-based reading test (DDART) in a sample of normal and low vision participants. wDDART’s test–retest reliability for all reading parameters was evaluated in a 15-day time-window. Results One hundred patients (normal vision group-NVG: 70; low vision group-LVG: 30 patients) responded to DDART and wDDART. Non-significant differences between the two reading tests were found for all parameters in NVG and LVG. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) between the two tests demonstrated good or excellent correlation for RA, MRS, ACC and moderate correlation for CPS. Test–retest reliability was excellent for RA and ACC, while ICCs were 0.715–0.895 for MRS and CPS. Conclusion The wDDART demonstrated sufficient validity and repeatability making it suitable for clinical and research settings. Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT04618224.

Impact of personality on the decision process and on satisfaction rates in pseudophakic presbyopic correction

“…Preoperative clinical examination included assessment of the corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) and the corrected near visual acuity (CNVA) with the Greek version of the democritus digital acuity & reading test (Democritus University, Alexandroupolis, Greece), corneal topography, mesopic pupil, chord-mu and coma evaluation with the Topolyzer Vario (Alcon Laboratories, Inc.), and contrast sensitivity with the Pelli-Robson test at 85 cd/m 2 at background light. 21,22 Postoperative examination included distant and near uncorrected visual acuity (UDVA and UNVA, respectively) with the democritus digital acuity & reading test, dysphotopsia by 2 direct 4-scale, Likert-type questions (1: always; 2: most of the times; 3: sometimes; 4: never) pertaining on the subjective perception of glare and unwanted shadows, as described before, and satisfaction rates with the Greek version NEI-VFQ 25, 6 months after the operation of the second eye. 23…”

Validation of a web-based distance visual acuity test

“…Recently, our group developed the Democritus Digital Acuity and Reading Test (DDART) and published its validation outcomes for near and intermediate vision assessment. 10,11 Our results suggested that the DDART is a reliable web-based test for near and intermediate vision evaluation that can be used in telemedical settings.…”

“…As previously reported, DDART was developed in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics of the University of Thessaly. 10,11 Brief Presentation of DDART DDART is a web-based application that has been validated as a reading acuity test. 10,11 In this work, DDART's functionality has been extended to simulate a series of prevalent distance vision tests as well; among them are the ETDRS, the Snellen, the Landolt C, and the Tumbling E. Therefore, DDART can be used to evaluate dVA in telemedical settings, provided that a highresolution screen with internet access is present.…”

Development and Validation of a Lighting Facility for the Objective Assessment of the Visual Performance of Presbyopic Patients in a Series of Activities of Daily Living

“…The following clinical indices were evaluated: a) binocular uncorrected near visual acuity (UNVA), b) binocular uncorrected intermediate visual acuity (UIVA), both using the web-based Democritus Digital Acuity Reading Test (wDDART) [ 17 , 18 ], and c) spherical equivalent.…”