Use of mobile MyVisionTrack (mVT) technology as a remote visual function metric in Early and Intermediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Abstract

Purpose : Screening of disease progression and timely intervention in early dry AMD lead to a higher likelihood of recoverable visual function. The FDA-approved myVisionTrack (mVT) smart phone application tracks shape discrimination hyperacuity (SDH) performance over time and may be able to detect subtle AMD progression. The goal of our study was to investigate the ability of the mVT SDH test to differentiate between normal controls and early and intermediate dry AMD.

Methods : 28 eyes of 24 patients aged 50-90 were enrolled in the mobile technology (mVT) arm of a prospective, longitudinal, observational study at Duke Eye Center: 9 eyes with early dry AMD, 12 intermediate dry AMD, and 7 normal control eyes. The outcomes of interest were mean and variance in the mVT scores over 2 months for each eye around the study visits at 6 and 12 months. P-values were calculated using analysis of variance with pair-wise comparisons using generalized estimating equations to account for using both eyes in the analysis.

Results : While we found no statistically significant difference between median scores of the three groups at 6 months, the mVT test differentiated between normal and early as well as early and intermediate AMD group at 12 months. These results were consistent with the observed loss of visual function in the intermediate AMD group in other in-clinic measures (BCVA, low luminance deficit and micoperimetry average threshold) at 12 months as compared to the normal group. Only the early AMD eyes showed a greater variance in mVT scores versus controls at 6 months.
Both AMD groups (early and intermediate) demonstrated significantly greater mVT score variance than the control group at 12 months.

Conclusions : The mVT mobile SDH test differentiated between normal, early AMD and intermediate AMD at the 12-month time point. The variability in mVT scoring in AMD eyes likely reflects greater visual fluctuations than in patients without maculopathy. The decrease in mVT scores in the intermediate AMD group at 12 months paralleled the loss in visual function documented on standard in-clinic assessments.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.