Development and evaluation of a new instrument to measure visual exploration behavior.
Effective visual exploration is required for many activities of daily living and instruments to assess visual exploration are important for the evaluation of the visual and the oculomotor system. In this article, the development of a new instrument to measure central and peripheral target recognition is described. The measurement setup consists of a hemispherical projection which allows presenting images over a large area of ± 90° horizontal and vertical angle. In a feasibility study with 14 younger (21-49 years) and 12 older (50-78 years) test persons, 132 targets and 24 distractors were presented within naturalistic color photographs of everyday scenes at 10°, 30°, and 50° eccentricity. After the experiment, both younger and older participants reported in a questionnaire that the task is easy to understand, fun and that it measures a competence that is relevant for activities of daily living. A main result of the pilot study was that younger participants recognized more targets with smaller reaction times than older participants. The group differences were most pronounced for peripheral target detection. This test is feasible and appropriate to assess the functional field of view in younger and older adults.
Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern, Switzerland; ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address: tobias.nef@artorg.unibe.ch.
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Nef
Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern, Switzerland.
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Gruber
Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern, Switzerland.
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Zito
Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern, Switzerland; Center of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation, Luzerner Kantonsspital, Switzerland.
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Nyffeler
Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern, Switzerland; Division of Cognitive and Restorative Neurology, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, University of Bern, Switzerland.
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Müri
Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern, Switzerland; Department of Old Age Psychiatry, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland.
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Mosimann
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D001334:Automobile Driving; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005133:Eye Movements; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011930:Reaction Time; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D058609:Visual Field Tests / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
Functional field of view; Optical instruments; Visual exploration