New methods for the assessment of accommodative convergence.
OBJECTIVE
The authors introduced a new objective method for measuring horizontal eye movements based on the first Purkinje image with the use of infrared charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras and compared stimulus accommodative convergence to accommodation (AC/A) ratios as determined by a standard gradient method.


METHODS
The study included 20 patients, 5 to 9 years old, who had intermittent exotropia (10 eyes) and accommodative esotropia (10 eyes). Measurement of horizontal eye movements in millimeters (mm), based on the first Purkinje image, was obtained with a TriIRIS C9000 instrument (Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan). The stimulus AC/A ratio was determined with the far gradient method. The average values of horizontal eye movements (mm) and eye deviation (Delta) (a) before and (b) after an accommodative stimulus of 3.00 diopters (D) were calculated with the following formula: horizontal eye movements (mm/D) and stimulus AC/A ratio (Delta/D) = (b - a)/3.


RESULTS
The average values of the horizontal eye movements and the stimulus AC/A ratio were 0.5 mm/D and 3.8 Delta/D, respectively. Correlation analysis showed a strong positive correlation between these two parameters (r = 0.92). Moreover, horizontal eye movements are directly proportional to the AC/A ratio measured with the gradient method.


CONCLUSIONS
The methods used in this study allow objective recordings of accommodative convergence to be obtained in many clinical situations.
Asakawa
Ken
K
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Kitasato University Graduate School, Doctors Program of Medical Science, Kanagawa, Japan.
Ishikawa
Hitoshi
H
Shoji
Nobuyuki
N
D000065:Accommodation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003290:Convergence, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D003941:Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D004948:Esotropia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005099:Exotropia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results