An anticipated threshold technique for measuring contrast sensitivity

A new psychophysical procedure for assessing contrast sensitivity rapidly and reliably is reported. The technique consists of increasing the contrast of a conventional sine wave grating according to the parameters set in a computer implemented algorithm. During the first half of a trial, the contrast increases quickly to a point just below an expected threshold, and in the second stage the contrast increases slowly until a threshold is reached. Details and advantages of the algorithm are presented as well as a comparison of data generated by this and other techniques.