A Novel Approach to Measuring Binocular Visual Fields in Glaucoma.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Visual Science

Background:

• Glaucoma significantly impacts visual function and daily activities.
• Accurate assessment of binocular visual field is crucial for managing glaucoma.
• Existing models like integrated visual field (IVF) are established but novel approaches are explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate novel binocular visual field index (VFI) models: binocular summation VFI (BiSumVFI) and combined average VFI (CaVFI).
• To determine the correlation of these new models with the established IVF.
• To assess the relationship between these binocular VFI models and glaucoma-related activity limitations (GAL-9).

Main Methods:

• Calculated IVFs from monocular visual fields of 58 primary glaucoma patients.
• Derived BiSumVFI and CaVFI from VFIs of both eyes.
• Administered the GAL-9 questionnaire to assess activity limitations.
• Analyzed correlations between IVF, BiSumVFI, CaVFI, and GAL-9 using statistical methods.

Main Results:

• Strong correlations were observed between IVF and BiSumVFI (r=-0.913) and between IVF and CaVFI (r=-0.896).
• BiSumVFI and CaVFI demonstrated high predictive power for IVF (R2=0.902 and R2=0.847, respectively).
• All tested binocular VFI models (IVF, BiSumVFI, CaVFI) showed moderate, significant correlations with GAL-9 scores.

Conclusions:

• BiSumVFI and CaVFI are effective predictors of IVF in glaucoma.
• These novel binocular VFI models align well with the existing IVF model.
• The new models show promise in reflecting patients' perceived activity limitations due to glaucoma.