Design of and normative data for a new computer based test of ocular torsion

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate a new clinically practical and dynamic test for quantifying torsional binocular eye alignment changes which may occur in the change from monocular to binocular viewing conditions.

Methods: The test was developed using a computer with Lotus Freelance Software, binoculars with prisms and colored filters. The subject looks through binoculars at the computer screen two meters away. For monocular vision, six concentric blue circles, a blue horizontal line and a tilted red line were displayed on the screen. For binocular vision, white circles replaced blue circles. The subject was asked to orient the lines parallel to each other. The difference in tilt (degrees) between the subjective parallel and fixed horizontal position is the torsional alignment of the eye. The time to administer the test was approximately two minutes.

Results: In 70 Normal subjects, average age 16 years, the mean degree of cyclodeviation tilt in the right eye was 0.6 degrees for monocular viewing conditions and 0.7 degrees for binocular viewing conditions, with a standard deviation of approximately one degree. There was no "statistically significant" difference between monocular and binocular viewing.

Conclusion: This computer based test is a simple, computerized, non-invasive test that has a potential for use in the diagnosis of cyclovertical strabismus. Currently, there is no commercially available test for this purpose.