Simple pointspread retinoscope suitable for vision screening

A simple pointspread retinoscope and method of retinoscopy are described which use optical principles similar to those of photoretinoscopy or static photographic skiascopy. In this instrument the degree of defocus of an eye is estimated from the disappearance of the bright fundal reflex or "crescent" in the eye of the subject when the distance between the light source and the eye of the observer is increased systematically. The instrument is particularly suitable for large scale screening efforts because it is easy to use and can be constructed from inexpensive materials. The pointspread retinoscope was calibrated against an artificial eye of known defocus. Additionally, results from pointspread retinoscopy were compared against meridional photorefractive data from a sample of infants and young children, and a significant correlation was found to exist between measurements made by the two methods.