title: Quick assessment of preferential looking acuity in infants.
abstract: A simple and rapid method for assessing the visual acuity of infants can be a valuable tool for eye care specialists as well as for researchers in vision. We have developed a preferential looking (PL) procedure that uses simple equipment to obtain measures of PL acuity in a few minutes. Infants ranging in age from 2 weeks to 1 year can be tested. Sessions on infants without any visual problems are completed in less than 5 min. Computer simulations of the technique show that the fast procedure attains almost 80% accuracy in assessing infants' PL acuity thresholds. When PL acuity thresholds obtained by the 60-trial method of constant stimuli were compared to those obtained by the fast method on the same infants, they were identical on 70% of the sessions and only off by one-half octave in an additional 20% of the sessions. Interobserver reliability was also high. The ease and rapidity of the procedure make it appropriate for use in the clinic.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000550:Amblyopia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001251:Astigmatism / Q000150:complications; D002386:Cataract / Q000150:complications; D003201:Computers; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D013285:Strabismus / Q000150:complications; D014787:Vision Tests / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D014792:Visual Acuity