Validation of a novel iPhone application for evaluating near functional visual acuity

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Vision Science
• Medical Technology

Background:

• Early detection of presbyopia is crucial for managing age-related vision changes.
• Conventional methods for measuring near functional visual acuity (NFVA) can be cumbersome.
• Smartphone-based applications offer a potential for more accessible vision testing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy and reliability of the Smart Vision Check (SVC) smartphone application for measuring NFVA.
• To compare the SVC's performance against a standard clinical device (AS-28).

Main Methods:

• 115 healthy volunteers (age ≥ 20 years) with good corrected vision participated.
• NFVA was measured using the SVC on an iPhone SE2 and a conventional AS-28 device.
• Statistical analyses included correlation and Bland-Altman plots to assess agreement and reliability.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were found between SVC and AS-28 for NFVA measurements (P > 0.05).
• High correlation (Spearman's ρ > 0.60, P < 0.001) was observed between the two devices.
• The SVC demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.915.

Conclusions:

• The Smart Vision Check (SVC) is an accurate and reliable tool for assessing near functional visual acuity.
• The SVC shows significant potential for convenient and effective presbyopia screening in clinical practice.