Adaptive Visual Acuity Modeling for Chart-Independent Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing visual acuity testing methods lack precision and consistency across different chart designs, leading to imprecise comparisons and tracking of visual changes, particularly in clinical settings, and fail to provide quantitative results.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for developing personalized acuity charts using interchangeable chart-invariant information, incorporating adaptive algorithms to optimize optotype selection, and generating precise acuity parameters independent of chart design, enabling rapid and precise visual acuity estimation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional Snellen charts are used for visual acuity testing, then the testing method is simple and widely understood, but the results lack precision and cannot provide detailed information about visual acuity changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the visual acuity testing process into multiple discrete steps: presenting individual optotypes, recording responses, calculating psychometric functions for each optotype type, and combining results into a comprehensive acuity model. This segmentation allows for precise measurement while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts the testing process by selecting different optotype types and configurations based on the subject's performance, adjusting the difficulty and variety of stimuli in real-time to optimize measurement precision without requiring a fixed, overly complex test structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple different optotype charts are used to test various visual functions, then comprehensive visual analysis is achieved, but the testing process becomes time-consuming and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal testing system that uses multiple optotype types (letters, numbers, symbols, shapes) within a single integrated platform. This multi-functional approach allows comprehensive visual analysis across different visual functions without requiring separate testing sessions for each function, thereby reducing overall testing time while maintaining versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system efficiently tests multiple visual functions by changing parameters such as optotype type, size, orientation, and presentation sequence rather than requiring completely separate testing procedures. This parameter-based approach enables comprehensive analysis while minimizing testing duration through systematic variation of test conditions.
3Reliability
If subjective reporting by subjects is relied upon, then the testing process is simple, but the accuracy and objectivity of visual acuity assessment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the system presents optotypes based on the subject's previous responses and adjusts subsequent presentations according to performance patterns. This feedback loop, combined with psychometric function analysis, objectively determines visual acuity thresholds while accounting for subject responses, thereby improving reliability without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces purely subjective reporting with objective computational analysis of response patterns. By using psychometric function calculations and statistical modeling to determine visual acuity thresholds from subject responses, the system eliminates reliance on subjective self-assessment while maintaining a relatively simple testing interface.
4Measurement precision
If fixed acuity thresholds are used for diagnosis, then the diagnostic process is straightforward, but the ability to detect subtle visual acuity changes and monitor progression deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes baseline psychometric functions and acuity models for each subject before monitoring progression. This preliminary characterization of individual visual performance creates reference points that enable precise detection of subtle changes over time, while the standardized modeling approach maintains ease of interpretation through consistent metrics.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from fixed threshold diagnosis to dynamic parameter-based assessment by calculating psychometric functions that capture the full response curve. This allows detection of subtle changes in visual acuity parameters (such as threshold shifts or slope changes) while maintaining diagnostic clarity through standardized parameter interpretation frameworks.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed herein are system and method for testing and analysis of visual acuity and changes using an acuity model, the acuity model generated based on one or more acuity chart design parameters and candidate acuity parameters calculated using the acuity test data of the subject, the acuity model comprising a chart-specific psychometric function determined using a family of multiple-optotype psychometric functions, and wherein the acuity model is configurable to estimate possibility of obtaining the acuity test data of the subject.