title: Enhancement of Visual Field Predictions with Pointwise Exponential Regression (PER) and Pointwise Linear Regression (PLR).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study was conducted to evaluate threshold smoothing algorithms to enhance prediction of the rates of visual field (VF) worsening in glaucoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 798 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and 6 or more years of follow-up who underwent 8 or more VF examinations. Thresholds at each VF location for the first 4 years or first half of the follow-up time (whichever was greater) were smoothed with clusters defined by the nearest neighbor (NN), Garway-Heath, Glaucoma Hemifield Test (GHT), and weighting by the correlation of rates at all other VF locations. Thresholds were regressed with a pointwise exponential regression (PER) model and a pointwise linear regression (PLR) model. Smaller root mean square error (RMSE) values of the differences between the observed and the predicted thresholds at last two follow-ups indicated better model predictions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean (SD) follow-up times for the smoothing and prediction phase were 5.3 (1.5) and 10.5 (3.9) years. The mean RMSE values for the PER and PLR models were unsmoothed data, 6.09 and 6.55; NN, 3.40 and 3.42; Garway-Heath, 3.47 and 3.48; GHT, 3.57 and 3.74; and correlation of rates, 3.59 and 3.64.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Smoothed VF data predicted better than unsmoothed data. Nearest neighbor provided the best predictions; PER also predicted consistently more accurately than PLR. Smoothing algorithms should be used when forecasting VF results with PER or PLR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The application of smoothing algorithms on VF data can improve forecasting in VF points to assist in treatment decisions.
authors.affiliation: The Jules Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Esteban
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.affiliation: The Jules Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: John Mark S
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: de Leon
authors.affiliation: The Jules Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Niloufar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Abdollahi
authors.affiliation: The Jules Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA ; Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: The Jules Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kouros
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nouri-Mahdavi
authors.affiliation: The Jules Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caprioli
keywords: data cleaning; exponential regression; glaucoma; linear regression; model fit; pointwise regression; prediction; visual field