Clinical evaluation of stereopsis

Principles of the design and administration of clinical stereopsis tests are outlined. Once the presence of the distinct sense of the third dimension by binocular vision alone and without help from monocular cues has been established in a patient, the examination can proceed to the measurement of stereoscopic acuity. Best results are obtained with high-contrast, sharp, well-articulated and uncrowded elements from easily-recognized target sets, displayed with no time constraints. Polarization is the preferred method of right/left eye separation; time-sharing at a minimum of 60 Hz on computer displays with counterphase occluding goggles is a feasible procedure. Random-dot stereograms are problematic because not all observers can disentangle the coherent global disparity on a first view.