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Updated: Jun 23, 2026
A Method to Quantify Visual Information Processing in Children Using Eye Tracking
Published on: July 9, 2016
Visual fields in young children treated with vigabatrin
Shivi Agrawal1, D Luisa Mayer, Ronald M Hansen
1Department of Ophthalmology, Children's Hospital, Boston and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Insights
White sphere kinetic perimetry (WSKP) effectively tested young children treated with Vigabatrin (VGB), an epilepsy drug. WSKP identified peripheral visual field constriction in VGB patients, even those with developmental delays.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Neurology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Vigabatrin (VGB) is an antiepileptic drug known to cause visual field constriction.
- Assessing peripheral visual field function in young children, especially those with epilepsy, presents unique challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of white sphere kinetic perimetry (WSKP) for assessing peripheral visual field function in children with epilepsy treated with Vigabatrin (VGB).
- To determine if WSKP can detect visual field constriction associated with VGB treatment in this pediatric population.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 31 children with a history of epilepsy treated with VGB and 10 age-matched control subjects (median age 6 years).
- Peripheral visual field extent was measured using WSKP with a 6-degree white sphere on major oblique meridia.
- Comparison of WSKP results with Goldmann kinetic perimetry (GKP) in a subset of patients and between VGB patients and controls.
Main Results:
- Binocular WSKP was feasible in 28 of 31 VGB patients, identifying smaller median visual field extents compared to controls.
- 29% of VGB patients tested with binocular WSKP showed visual field extents below the minimum range of controls.
- Monocular WSKP results did not significantly differ between VGB patients and controls, highlighting the utility of binocular testing.
Conclusions:
- White sphere kinetic perimetry (WSKP) is a feasible method for evaluating peripheral visual fields in young children, including those with developmental delays.
- WSKP demonstrates potential as a valuable tool for detecting and monitoring visual field constriction linked to Vigabatrin (VGB) therapy in children.
Purpose:
To evaluate white sphere kinetic perimetry (WSKP) as a test of the peripheral visual field in young children with a history of epilepsy and treatment with Vigabatrin (VGB). VGB is an antiepileptic medication that is associated with visual field constriction.
Methods:
Thirty-one VGB patients and 10 control subjects, median age 6 years, were recruited. Visual field extent on the major oblique meridia was tested with a 6 degrees white sphere and WSKP, a method used by Quinn et al. to study field extent in children with retinopathy of prematurity. The same meridia were tested using Goldmann kinetic perimetry (GKP; 1.7 degrees target) in those who were capable. Monocular and binocular tests were conducted. Visual field extent for WSKP and GKP were compared in VGB patients and control subjects.
Results:
Twenty-eight of 31 VGB patients were testable with binocular WSKP and their median visual field extents were smaller than controls. In 8 of 28 (29%) VGB patients, binocular field extents were smaller than the minimum in the control subjects. Monocular WSKP results did not differ between VGB patients and control subjects. Nine VGB patients were testable with both WSKP and GKP; visual field extents did not differ between tests.
Conclusions:
WSKP is feasible in VGB patients, even in those with developmental delays. WSKP has the potential to detect visual field constriction associated with VGB use.
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