Real world data on digital remote refraction in a healthy population of 14,680 eyes.
cross_sectional · Level IV
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 39915652.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41746-025-01453-0 and PMC identifier 11802787.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Refractive errors are the leading cause of preventable visual impairment, to which web-based remote refraction could contribute. We report real-world 2021-2022 data of the underlying algorithm and validated these to conventional prescriptions among healthy individuals (high visual acuity and satisfactied current refraction). Participants were 18-45 years with a spherical (S) error between -3.50 + 2.00S to -2.00 Diopter Cylinder (DC), reported as Spherical Equivalent (SEQ) in mean differences and 95% Limits of agreement. Consecutive measurements (n = 14,680) were assessed of which n = 6386 selected for validation. The mean difference was 0.01D(SD 0.69) and -0.73D(SD 0.92) for myopes and hyperopes respectively. This algorithm shows variation, nonetheless, 67% and 82% of myopes were within ±0.5 and ±0.75D. The test underestimates hyperopes (34% and 50% within ±0.5D and ±0.75D) and had inconsistencies distinguishing hyperopia. This proof-of-concept shows home testing has the potency to increase accessibility to care by delivering a valuable alternative for uncomplicated refractive assessments.