How Do Different Digital Displays Affect the Ocular Surface?

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Digital Health
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Digital display use is a known contributor to dry eye disease.
• Variations in digital display technology and usage may influence the severity of eye-related issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare ocular surface, tear film, and visual fatigue differences across various digital displays.
• To evaluate the efficacy of artificial tears in mitigating digital display-induced eye strain.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving 31 healthy young adults (20-26 years).
• Assessment of ocular surface, tear film, and visual fatigue after 15-minute reading tasks on laptops, tablets, e-readers, and smartphones.
• Utilized questionnaires (Ocular Surface Disease Index, Computer Vision Syndrome Questionnaire), tear meniscus height, Schirmer I test, noninvasive keratograph break-up time, osmolarity, bulbar redness, and pupil size measurements, with and without artificial tears.

Main Results:

• Significant differences were observed in ocular surface and tear film parameters among the tested devices (P < .05).
• Smartphones and e-readers demonstrated the best outcomes, while laptops caused the most significant ocular surface and tear film disturbance.
• Artificial tear instillation did not yield statistically significant improvements in ocular surface or tear film parameters for any device (P > .05).

Conclusions:

• Smartphones appear to be the least disruptive digital display, exhibiting fewer dry eye signs and symptoms compared to other devices.
• The study highlights device-specific impacts on ocular health and suggests smartphones as a potentially safer option for digital reading.