G A Hahn¹, A Stockum¹, C Teschner¹, M MacKeben², S Trauzettel-Klosinski¹
¹University Eye Hospital, Low Vision Department, Tuebingen, Germany; ²The Smith-Kettlewell, Eye Research Institute, San Francisco, United States
Purpose: Evaluation of the training effect of two computer-based training programs on reading performance in patients with central scotomata. Methods: Patients with central scotomata, eccentric fixation and a magnification need of up to 4 times were enrolled in the study. Patients were randomly assigned to one of the following training procedures: In the rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) words are displayed sequentially at a constant location on a computer screen for an adjustable presentation time (PT). This program was designed to minimize eye movements during reading. Alternatively, the sensorimotor training (ST) presents groups of characters (CS) in a line of text with adjustable number of letters and PT. The objective of this method is to control the eye movements during reading. After instruction the patients trained independently, adjusting PT and CS (sensorimotor training) in the program according to the progress of their individual reading performance. Reading speed and comprehension were used as performance measures. Eye movements during reading were assessed by an eye tracking system (IOTA Sundsvall, Sweden) before and after training. Results: 20 patients with juvenile maculopathy participated (53% male, 47% female, mean age 33yrs.±12,38). We found an increase of the reading-speed with both methods (75% with ST and 42% with RSVP). Patients reduced the PT by an average of 16 % using the ST and 41 % with RSVP. ST reduced the number of saccades in 70% of the patients. Simultaneously the number of CS was increased by 37%. Conclusion: Reading training can be a valuable supplement in low vision rehabilitation for patients with juvenile maculopathy. In particular the sensorimotor training, which is designed to train a normal reading pattern, can achieve an improved reading process. Supported by German Research Council (Zr13-1 to S. T-K)
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