Abstract
Purpose :
Using Vision App to remotely monitor the habitual usage of the smart device in children to understand the device- eye distance usage and ambience illumination usage.
Methods :
Children aged 6 – 13 yrs old were recruited in this study for three months to continuously monitor the working distance (near work) and the face illumination level of the children (ambience light level). The remote monitoring device (Amazon Fire HD 8) was installed with Myopia App (Vision App ©). The App measured the face-device distance (near work) and the illumination level (ambience) in which the children used the devices at home. The subjects were split into two groups; intervention and non-intervention. In the intervention group, the device’s screen would turn dark forcing the subject to maintain the distance at least 30 cm from the device, while in the non-intervention group the device just recorded the time, illumination and distance data without any warning. Refraction and axial lengths were measured during the entire period of study (3 months) in two-week frequency.
Results :
In the non-intervention group, about 80% of the subjects viewed the devices from the distance < 30 cm, and 87% were working in an ambience light under 100 lux, with an average of only 40 lux. In the intervention group, about 80% of the subjects had a working distance of > 30 cm from the eye, and about 57% were working in an ambience light under 100 lux. The accommodative demand difference between the non-intervention and the intervention group was about 0.75 D. Measurements of axial length over three-month period shows marginal increase in subjects but magnitude varies from subject to subject.
Conclusions :
Remote monitoring of the children for three months shows clearly that intervention group’s working distance was greater than 30 cm. Vision App intervention might potentially aid in the delay of onset of myopia in children. Ambience light was found to be less than 100 lux for both non-intervention and intervention groups. This long-term study will continue to focus on the measurements of near work and illumination, and its impact on the myopia progression in children.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.