Prospective Evaluation of Mesopic Night Vision and Night Vision Goggle Visual Acuity After Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK)

Abstract

The US Air Force PRK Study involved 98 non-flying, active duty volunteer personnel. All study subjects underwent a comprehensive array of vision tests. Baseline and post-operative data were collected at the Ophthalmology Branch of the Clinical Sciences Division of the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory and Wilford Hall Medical Center. This report covers results from pre- and post-operative night vision goggle (NVG) visual acuity testing. 65 treated subjects and 15 untreated controls completed all post-op visits through 12 months, and 52 treated subjects and 14 untreated controls through 24 months. NVG acuities were collected on a high contrast letter chart (Bailey-Lovie), and custom made grating charts. There was a statistically significant loss of letter acuity at the 4- and 6-month post-op visits for treated subjects but not controls. Acuity returned to baseline levels by 12 months. Mean loss of acuity for groups was typically only a few letters; however, treated subjects were more likely to lose than gain acuity beyond that predicted from repeatability studies with controls.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA435075

Entities

People

  • Douglas J. Ivan
  • J. B. Baldwin
  • Paul L. Hiers
  • Robert E. Miller Ii
  • Ronald C. Tutt
  • William T. Thompson

Organizations

  • United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerospace Medicine
  • Air Force
  • Eye Diseases
  • Governments
  • Health Services
  • Laser Eye Surgery
  • Light Sources
  • Measurement
  • Medical Personnel
  • Night Vision
  • Ophthalmology
  • Performance Tests
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Surgery
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Test Methods
  • Visual Acuity

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Circadian Sleep-Wake Regulation and Chronobiology
  • Clinical Trial Research.
  • Vision Science/Vision Psychology/Cognitive Neuroscience.

Technology Areas

  • Space