Influence of Age and Gender on Visual Field Test Duration in Healthy Subjects

Abstract

Purpose : Tolerable test duration of clinical perimetry examinations is crucial for ensuring result accuracy. A prior investigation demonstrated a 39% reduction in measurement time with a novel binocular visual field (VF) testing device in comparison to other Standard Automated Perimetry (SAP) alternatives. This study investigates the impact of age and gender on test duration of binocular VF testing within a cohort of healthy subjects.

Methods : A diverse sample of healthy subjects was recruited for this study. All subjects underwent 10-2 and 24-2 binocular visual field testing with the TEMPO/IMOvifa Perimeter (Topcon Healthcare/CREWT Medical Systems, Tokyo, Japan) utilizing SAP testing standards: Goldmann stimulus size III, maximum stimulus intensity of 3183 candelas/meter² and a background intensity of 10 candelas/meter². The AIZE-Rapid testing strategy and Heijl-Krakau gaze monitoring were used. Subjects were stratified into groups based upon age in decades and gender for cross-sectional analysis. A committee of two perimetry experts vetted all included visual field tests regarding test reliability; all tests had fixation loss, false negative, and false positive reliability index findings of ≤ 25% and were found to be acceptable for inclusion in a reference database.

Results : Visual field test duration was examined for 356 healthy subjects (ages 22-93 years). 56% of the subjects identified as female. Mean binocular test duration was 3:19 +/- 0:23 (mm:ss) (1 minute 35 seconds per eye) for 24-2 threshold VF testing and 3:51 +/- 0:22 (mm:ss) (1 minute 47 seconds per eye) for 10-2. The mean test times were comparable across all age groups on both 24-2 and 10-2 (p>0.05 for all) (Figure 1). Similarly, no notable difference was observed in mean test duration between males and females on either 24-2 or 10-2 VF testing (p >0.05 for all).

Conclusions : Visual field test duration is comparable across a diverse range of ages and between genders in a healthy population. The findings of this study support that patient, irrespective of age and gender, can efficiently undergo VF testing on TEMPO, minimizing fatigue and ultimately enhancing test accuracy.

This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.

 

Figure 1. Mean 24-2 exam time vs. age range. Mean test duration is comparable among all age groups for 24-2 threshold testing.