Near visual function measured with a novel tablet application in patients with astigmatism.

Clinical Relevance: While the clinical focus of performance metrics is traditionally based on visual acuity, research from the field of visual impairment has demonstrated that metrics such as reading speed and critical print size correlate much more strongly with subjective patient reported outcomes and assessed ability in real-world tasks.

Background: More recently, digital device use has increasingly replaced many paper-based tasks. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the correlation between standard acuity/contrast metrics and functional reading ability compared to real-world performance on an iPad-based reading task with astigmatic patients corrected wearing toric and mean spherical equivalent contact lenses.

Randomized Clinical Trial of Near Visual Performance with Digital Devices Using Spherical and Toric Contact Lenses.

Significance: Visual demands today incorporate a significant amount of time using digital devices. Results of this randomized crossover study of spherical and toric contact lenses demonstrated that participants were able to read smaller print size more comfortably and preferred toric contact lenses when using digital devices.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess how toric contact lens correction affects subjective and objective outcomes of astigmatic patients using real-world digital devices.