Testing method and test kit for prescribing coloured vision aids for visual processing related conditions

Abstract

A method for testing a patient to determine a colour prescription for one or more coloured vision aids for the patient to alleviate one or more symptoms of a neurological condition suffered by the patient. The patient first carries out a first iteration of a prescribed test without the use of any coloured vision aids and the patient’s performance is measured or observed. The patient then carries out second and further iterations of the test using one or more coloured vision aids with different colour prescriptions, their performance being observed or measured for each iteration. The observed or measured performance of the iterations of the test are compared to determine which of the tested colour prescriptions gives rise to the best performance. A test kit for performing the method is also provided.

Description

Field of Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to testing methods and test kits for use in prescribing coloured vision aids, for example coloured eyeglass lenses and / or coloured overlays, for correcting or alleviating the effects of visual processing related neurological conditions, including but not limited to neurodevelopmental conditions such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Background

[0002] It is generally understood that at least some of the effects of neurodevelopmental conditions such as dyslexia can be corrected or alleviated with the use of coloured overlays, coloured eyeglass lenses (or contact lenses) and / or coloured backgrounds for reading materials. In particular, the use of these coloured aids has been shown to improve reading speed and accuracy, as well as overall comprehension. It is thought that these benefits arise because the coloured vision aids relieve visual stress, also referred to as ‘Irlen Syndrome’, that otherwise impacts visual processing of those suffering from dyslexia, impacting their ability to read and write.

[0003] US4961640 (Irlen) describes an approach to treating Irlen Syndrome using specially tinted eyeglass lenses. An optimal colour and transmission density for the lenses for a patient is established through experiential testing based on feedback from the patient as they complete tests using lenses with different colours and transmission densities. The reliance on feedback from the patient can give rise to sub-optimal results and also makes the approach inappropriate for patients with severe learning difficulties who are not able to provide the required feedback.

[0004] It is also known to use Intuitive Colorimeters to assess patients and establish appropriate colour relief for visual stress. However, these systems are expensive, typically meaning correspondingly high charges for the tests. The reliance on feedback from the patient can give rise to sub-optimal results and also makes the approach inappropriate for patients with severe learning difficulties who are not able to provide the required feedback. Summary

[0005] In general, embodiments of the invention are concerned with providing improved approaches to testing a patient to establish the most effective colour prescription for correcting or alleviating the symptoms of a visual processing related condition from which they are suffering. The colour prescription may include colour(s) and light absorption levels for eyeglass lenses and / or overlays for physical (e.g. paper) pages and / or electronic visual displays. The colour prescription may additionally include one or more prescribed background colours for physical pages and / or electronic visual displays. In general, the lens ‘prescription’ is typically a colour prescription only; there is no vision correction (although with the correct ophthalmic advice, lenses could be provided to give appropriate vision correction along with the colour prescription).

[0006] In a first aspect, the invention provides a method for testing a patient to determine a colour prescription for one or more coloured vision aids for the patient to alleviate one or more symptoms of a neurological condition suffered by the patient, the method comprising: the patient carrying out a first iteration of a first prescribed test without the use of any coloured vision aids; observing or measuring the patient’s performance in the first iteration of the test; the patient carrying out a second iteration of the first test using one or more coloured vision aids with a first colour prescription; observing or measuring the patient’s performance in the second iteration of the test; the patient carrying out one or more further iterations of the first test, each further iteration of the test using one or more coloured vision aids with a different colour prescription to the preceding iterations of the test; for each further iteration of the first test, observing or measuring the patient’s performance; and comparing the observed or measured performance of the iterations of the first test to determine which of the tested colour prescriptions gives rise to the best performance.

[0007] In some embodiments, the first prescribed test is a writing test in which the patient is instructed to write the same, set text in each iteration of the test. The set text may, for example, comprise a combination of words and numbers.

[0008] In some embodiments, the coloured vision aids used in the first test are coloured eyeglass lenses. The set of lenses may, for example, include pairs of lenses (one for each eye) of at least four different colour, more preferably at least 6 different colours. There may be 7 or 8 or even more colours. There may also be multiple pairs of each colour, for example so that lenses can be doubled up in front of each eye to increase the light absorption. In some embodiments, the different colour lenses may be implemented within a single coloured vision aid.

[0009] In some embodiments of the method of the invention, the test procedure includes reading and copying tests in addition to the writing test.

[0010] Thus, in some embodiments, the method comprises, subsequent to completion of all iterations of the first prescribed test: the patient carrying out a first iteration of a second prescribed test with or without the use of coloured vision aids; observing or measuring the patient’s performance in the first iteration of the second test; the patient carrying out a second iteration of the second test using one or more coloured vision aids with a first colour prescription; observing or measuring the patient’s performance in the second iteration of the second test; the patient carrying out one or more further iterations of the second test, each further iteration of the second test using one or more coloured vision aids with a different colour prescription to the preceding iterations of the second test; for each further iteration of the second test, observing or measuring the patient’s performance; and comparing the observed or measured performance of the iterations of the second test to determine which of the tested colour prescriptions gives rise to the best performance.

[0011] In some embodiments, the second prescribed test is a reading test, in which the patient is instructed to read the same text in each iteration of the test.

[0012] As in the first test, in some embodiments, the coloured vision aids used in the second test are coloured eyeglass lenses. The iterations of the second test may, in some embodiments, use colour prescriptions that are a subset of the colour prescriptions used for the iterations of the first test, the subset being a subset of the colour prescriptions that gave rise to the best performances by the patient in the first test (e.g. the best performing colour lenses).

[0013] In some embodiments, once the best performing colour lenses are established, it may be desirable to test those lenses in combination with additional coloured vision aids, for example overlays. Thus, in some embodiments, a first group of the iterations of the second test use a single type of coloured vision aid (e.g. coloured lenses) and a second group of iterations of the second test use a combination of two types of coloured vision aids (e.g. the lenses and a coloured overlay).

[0014] In some embodiments, subsequent to completion of all iterations of the second prescribed test, the method goes on to test the patient’s ability to copy text. Specifically, the method comprises: the patient carrying out a first iteration of a third prescribed test with or without the use of any coloured vision aids, wherein the third prescribed test is a copying test, in which the patient reads a set text and writes a copy of the set text; observing or measuring the patient’s performance in the first iteration of the third test; the patient carrying out a second iteration of the third test using one or more coloured vision aids with a first colour prescription; observing or measuring the patient’s performance in the second iteration of the third test; the patient carrying out one or more further iterations of the third test, each further iteration of the third test using one or more coloured vision aids with a different colour prescription to the preceding iterations of the third test; for each further iteration of the third test, observing or measuring the patient’s performance; and comparing the observed or measured performance of the iterations of the third test to determine which of the tested colour prescriptions gives rise to the best performance.

[0015] In some embodiments, the patient carries out at least some iterations of the third test using one or more coloured vision aids having a colour prescription determined to have been the best performing colour prescription in the first and / or second prescribed test.

[0016] In some embodiments, it may also be desirable to assess the effect of futher coloured vision aids, including for example coloured paper on which the patient writes. Thus, in some embodiments, the patient carries out iterations of the test with a further coloured vision aid, in addition to the one or more vision aids used in the first and second tests. The further coloured vision aid may, for example, coloured paper on which the patient writes the copy of the text they have read.

[0017] In some embodiments, the observed or measured performance for a writing or copying test is judged based on one or more of: the amount of space consumed on the page by the written text; the regularity of the spacing of the letters of the written text; the size of the written text; and the placement of the written text relative to ruled lines and margins on the page.

[0018] In some embodiments, the observed or measured performance for reading test is judged based on one or more of: the reading speed; the reading accuracy; the reading expression; the addition of one or more whole words; and the omission of one or more whole words.

[0019] The approach proposed in the present invention can also be used to assess the effect of using the coloured vision aids on the patients motor skills, by using skills-based tests.

[0020] Thus, in some embodiments, the prescribed tests are skills based test that test one or more of the patient’s gross motor skills, perceptual motor skills, and fine motor skills.

[0021] In a second aspect, the invention provides a test kit for performing a test in accordance with the first aspect above, the test kit comprising: an eyeglass frame to be worn by the patient; a plurality of differently coloured lenses mountable in the eyeglass frame to be located in front of the patient’s eyes when they are wearing the eyeglass frame; and a plurality of differently coloured overlays, for overlaying on written text.

[0022] In some embodiments, the eyeglass frame is configured to accept a separate lens for each eye and may be configured to accept two or more lenses to be positioned in front of each eye, whereby the multiple lenses can be positioned in front of each eye to increase the light absorption level. Each lens preferably has a fixed percentage light absorption property or the specific colour of the lens, for example 10% or 20% light absorption. In some embodiments, the plurality of differently coloured lenses may be achieved technologically, with appropriate hardware and / or software without necessarily having separate, discrete lenses for the different colours.

[0023] In some embodiments, the test kit further comprises a plurality of differently coloured paper sheets on which the patient can write.

[0024] The skilled person will appreciate that the features described and defined in connection with the aspects of the invention and the embodiments thereof may be combined in any combination, regardless of whether the specific combination is expressly mentioned herein. Thus, all such combinations are considered to be made available to the skilled person. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0025] Embodiments of the invention will be described, by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0026] Figures 1 to 4 illustrate a testing method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention based on testing a patient’s reading and writing skills; and

[0027] Figure 5 illustrates a testing method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention using skills-based tests. Detailed Description

[0028] Figures 1 to 4 show the steps in a sequential test procedure that can be used to determine and optimal colour prescription for a patient, with a combination of coloured eyeglass lenses, a coloured overlay and coloured paper.

[0029] In overview, the method first identifies the best performing colours for the eyeglass lenses in a writing test (fig. 1), with iterations of the test being conducted with all available colours of lens (typically 7 or 8, as discussed further below). The test procedure then moves on to a reading test (fig. 2), again using multiple iterations with different colour lenses to find the best performing colour. Rather than use all available colours again, in this example the second test uses a subset of the best performing colours identified in the first step. Having identified the best colour eyeglass lenses based on the first two tests, the procedure moves on to a third test (fig. 3); another reading test but this time using a series of different colours of overlay over the text that is being read, to find the best overlay colour to use in combination with the best lens colour that has already been identified. Finally, in a fourth test in the procedure, the patient’s ability to accurately copy text is tested, in this case assessing the differences when the patient is writing on different paper colours.

[0030] Considering the first test in the sequence in more detail, with reference to fig. 1, the patient is first asked to write a line of text without any coloured vision aids. This provides a base line against which to compare subsequent iterations of the test. The performance can be gauged by considering factors including: the amount of space consumed on the page by the written text; the regularity of the spacing of the letters of the written text; the size of the written text; and the placement of the written text relative to ruled lines and margins on the page.

[0031] Having established this base line, the patient is then fitted with a pair of coloured eyeglass lenses. Typically, especially for an initial test, the same colour lens will be placed in front of each eye. To facilitate this, an eyeglass frame can be worn by the patient, configured to interchangeably mount the coloured lenses in the patient’s line of sight in front of each eye. With the coloured lenses in place, the patient is then asked to re-write the same line of text as the wrote in the initial iteration of the test (without the coloured lenses). To allow ease of comparison, the second written line of text for the second iteration is preferably written on the same piece of paper as the first line of text, immediately below it. Where lined paper is used, the second line may, for example, be written one or two lines below the first line of text. Preferably the first line of text is, however, hidden from the patient when they are writing the second line of text, to avoid copying.

[0032] The performance of the patient writing the second line of text can be judged in the same way as the first line of text, and the two performances compared.

[0033] The test continues by replacing the coloured lenses with a second pair of lenses of a different colour. The patient then writes the line of text again and, once more, their performance can be judged and compared with the previous iterations.

[0034] This sequence continues, with the coloured lenses being swapped out for a different colour for each iteration, until the test has been completed with all available colours.

[0035] The range of coloured lenses may comprise, for example: Yellow, Orange, Red, Violet, Blue, Pink and Green. In some embodiments, as well as conducting iterations of the test with the same colour of lens for each eye, iterations can be conducted with mixed colours, i.e. a different colour for each eye.

[0036] It may also be desirable in some cases to assess the effect of different levels of light absorption for the various colours. This can be achieved by using different versions of the colour lenses with different absorption levels or, alternatively, by conducting iterations of the test with two lenses of the same colour in front of each eye, to double the absorption compared with a single lens in front of each eye.

[0037] Once all iterations have been completed, the results can all be compared to identify the best performing colours (or combination of colours if iterations of the test have been conducted with different colours for each eye).

[0038] The test procedure then moves to the second step, illustrated in fig. 2. In this second step, the patient’s reading ability is tested iteratively, again using different colour lenses. In the present example, rather than use all of the coloured lenses again, only the top performing colours from the first step are used, for example the top 4 performing colours.

[0039] The test is conducted by asking the patient to read the same text for each iteration of the test. As shown in fig. 2, the first iteration of this second test can be conducted without any coloured lenses, to give another base line for reading. In other cases, the iteration without coloured lenses may be omitted. Similarly to the first test, for each iteration, with different coloured lenses, the patient is asked to read the same text, and the performances compared to identify the best performing colour (or colour combination).

[0040] In the case of this reading test, the performance can be judged, for example, using parameters including: the reading speed; the reading accuracy; the reading expression (including, for example, intonation, emotions and phrasing); and the addition or omission (or not) of one or more whole words.

[0041] Having established the colour prescription for the lenses (based on the best performing colour or colour combination from the first two test), these lenses are then used for the next two steps in the testing sequence.

[0042] The third step is used to establish whether, in combination with the prescribed lens colour, the use of a coloured overlay improves reading performance. More specifically, as illustrated in fig. 3, the patient’s reading performance is compared over a number of iterations of the test, first without an overlay and then with different colour overlays. In the present example, blue, pink, yellow and aqua overlays are used. The best performing iteration can be judged using the same criteria used to judge reading performance in the test of step 2. The best performing colour overlay can then be added to the overall colour prescription for the patient.

[0043] Finally, in a fourth step in the procedure, illustrated in fig. 4, the performance impact of different colour papers on the patient’s writing is determined. In this case, the test is a copying test, where the patient reads a text and writes a copy of that text onto, first, white paper, and then different colours of paper, to see if there is any improvement. In the present example, blue, pink, yellow and aqua paper colours are used. If a particular colour of paper is judged to give rise to a better performance, then this paper colour can also be added to the patient’s colour prescription.

[0044] Variations are possible in the above testing procedure. For example, the copying test could be used to help identify the best performing lens colour and / or overlay colour, instead of or in addition to the writing and reading tests.

[0045] The tests can also be adapted based on the ability of the patient. For example, patients without the capacity to read or write can be tested with non-text-based versions of the tests. For example, colouring tests in which the patient’s ability to accurately colour within a particular area on a page and / or their ability to copy shapes or colours, can be used.

[0046] It has been found that the use of coloured vision aids, in particular coloured eyeglass lenses can also give rise to significant improvements in the performance of skill-based tasks. Such skills based tasks might include tasks that test gross motor skills (e.g. balance, coordination), perceptual motor skills (e.g. hand-eye coordination), and fine motor skills (e.g. manipulating tools in the patient’s hand to complete tasks). Tasks that test gross motor skills may include, for example, walking along a line. Tests for perceptual motor skills include, for example, throwing and catching a ball and kicking a ball at a target. Tests for fine motor skills include, for example, cutting along a line with scissors, slicing food and spreading butter on bread. Various other skills tests in these categories will be apparent to the skilled person.

[0047] As illustrated in fig. 5, the test process for determining the effect of the coloured lenses on 5 these skills based tasks can follow a similar sequence of steps to the writing, reading and copying test described above. Specifically, for each skill, the patient first performs the skill without wearing any coloured lenses and then repeats the same skill multiple times using different coloured lenses to establish the best performing colour.

[0048] It will be understood that the above description of preferred features is given by way of 10 example only and that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable modification and alteration of the above methods for purposes of describing the aforementioned aspects, but one of ordinary skill in the art can recognize that many further modifications and permutations of various aspects are possible. Accordingly, the described aspects are intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall 15 within the spirit and scope of the invention set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method fortesting a patient to determine a colour prescription for one or more coloured vision aids for the patient to alleviate one or more symptoms of a neurological condition suffered by the patient, the method comprising:the patient carrying out a first iteration of a first prescribed test without the use of any coloured vision aids;observing or measuring the patient’s performance in the first iteration of the test;the patient carrying out a second iteration of the first test using one or more coloured vision aids with a first colour prescription;observing or measuring the patient’s performance in the second iteration of the test;the patient carrying out one or more further iterations of the first test, each further iteration of the test using one or more coloured vision aids with a different colour prescription to the preceding iterations of the test;for each further iteration of the first test, observing or measuring the patient’s performance; andcomparing the observed or measured performance of the iterations of the first test to determine which of the tested colour prescriptions gives rise to the best performance.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first prescribed test is a writing test in which the patient is Instructed to write the same, set text in each iteration of the test.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the set text comprises wordsnumbers, language and sequencing.

4. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the coloured vision aids are coloured eyeglass lenses.

5. The method of any one of the preceding claims, comprising, subsequent to completion of all iterations of the first prescribed test:the patient carrying out a first iteration of a second prescribed test with or without the use of coloured vision aids;observing or measuring the patient’s performance in the first iteration of the second test;the patient carrying out a second iteration of the second test using one or more coloured vision aids with a first colour prescription;observing or measuring the patient’s performance in the second iteration of the second test;the patient carrying out one or more further iterations of the second test, each further iteration of the second test using one or more coloured vision aids with a different colour prescription to the preceding iterations of the second test;for each further iteration of the second test, observing or measuring the patient’sperformance; andcomparing the observed or measured performance of the iterations of the second test to determine which of the tested colour prescriptions gives rise to the best performance.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second prescribed test is a reading test, in which the patient is instructed to read the same text in each iteration of the test.

7. The method of claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the coloured vision aids are coloured eyeglass lenses.

8. The method of any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the iterations of the second test use colour prescriptions that are a subset of the colour prescriptions used for the iterations of the first test, the subset being a subset of the colour prescriptions that gave rise to the best performances by the patient in the first test.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein a first group of the iterations of the second test use a single type of coloured vision aid and a second group of iterations of the second test use a combination of two types of coloured vision aids.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the single type of coloured vision aids are coloured eyeglass lenses and the combination of two types of coloured vision aids is a combination of coloured eyeglass lenses and a coloured overlay.

11. The method of any one of claims 5 to 10, comprising, subsequent to completion of all iterations of the second prescribed test:the patient carrying out a first iteration of a third prescribed test with or without the use of any coloured vision aids;observing or measuring the patient’s performance in the first iteration of the third test;the patient carrying out a second iteration of the third test using one or more coloured vision aids with a first colour prescription;observing or measuring the patient’s performance in the second iteration of the third test;the patient carrying out one or more further iterations of the third test, each further iteration of the third test using one or more coloured vision aids with a different colour prescription to the preceding iterations of the third test;for each further iteration of the third test, observing or measuring the patient’s performance; andcomparing the observed or measured performance of the iterations of the third test to determine which of the tested colour prescriptions gives rise to the best performance.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the third prescribed test is a copying test, in which the patient reads a set text and writes a copy of the set text.

13. The method of claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the patient carries out at least some iterations of the third test using one or more coloured vision aids having a colour prescription determined to have been the best performing colour prescription in the first and / or second prescribed test.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the patient carries out iterations of the test with a further coloured vision aid, in addition to the one or more vision aids used in the first and second tests.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the further coloured vision aid is coloured paper on which the patient write the copy of the text they have read.

16. The method of any one of the preceding claims, where the observed or measured performance for a writing or copying test is judged based on one or more of:the amount of space consumed on the page by the written text;the regularity of the spacing of the letters of the written text;the size of the written text; andthe placement of the written text relative to ruled lines and margins on the page.

17. The method of any one of the preceding claims, where the observed or measured performance for reading test is judged based on one or more of:the reading speed;the reading accuracy;the reading expression; and the omission of whole words.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the first prescribed test is a skills based test that tests one or more of the patient’s gross motor skills, perceptual motor skills, and fine motor skills.

19. The method according to claim 5, wherein the first and second prescribed tests are skills based tests that each test one or more of the patient’s gross motor skills, perceptual motor skills, and fine motor skills, the second prescribed test being different from the first prescribed test.

20. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first, second and third prescribed tests are skills based tests that each test one or more of the patient’s gross motor skills, perceptual motor skills, and fine motor skills, the first, second and third prescribed test being different from one another.

21. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein each colour prescription includes specified colours and light absorption levels for the or each coloured vision aid.

22. A test kit for performing a test in accordance with the method of any one of claims 1 to 17, the test kit comprising:an eyeglass frame to be worn by the patient;5 a plurality of differently coloured lenses mountable in the eyeglass frame to be located in frontof the patient’s eyes when they are wearing the eyeglass frame; anda plurality of differently coloured overlays, for overlaying on written text.

23. The test kit of claim 22, wherein the eyeglass frame is configured to accept a separate lens 10 for each eye.

24. The test kit of claim 23 or claim 24, wherein the eyeglass frame is configured to accept two or more lenses to be positioned in front of each eye, whereby the multiple lenses can be positioned in front of each eye to increase the light absorption level.1525. The test kit of any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein the kit further comprises a plurality of differently coloured paper sheets on which the patient can write.13

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