Spaeth/Richman Contrast Sensitivity Test

Glaucoma Clinical Trial

— SPARCS  

Official title:

Validation and Reproducibility of Spaeth/Richman Contrast Sensitivity Test

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01300949
• Other study ID #: 10-998
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: January 2010
• Est. completion date: April 2014

Study information

• Verified date: November 2018
• Source: Wills Eye
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The Spaeth-Richman Contrast Sensitivity (SPARCS) test is a new method of assessing contrast sensitivity. The test, another way to measure vision, is performed on any standard computer with internet access. Patients will be tested with SPARCS and with the standard Pelli-Robson contrast test.

Description:

Contrast Sensitivity is another way to test vision. It uses black on a white background and minimally decreases the black (grey) until it blends with the white. The least amount of contrast (faint grey) seen translates into amount of vision. This new method of determining contrast sensitivity uses black and white vertical bars and does not require recognizing letters in the alphabet. It tests various areas of the visual field and central vision. The test takes approximately 3 minutes per eye.

Pelli-Robson is a commonly used contrast sensitivity test that uses black letters on a white background. The letter size stays the same, only the amount of black changes, becoming greyer, making letters hard to see. The test takes approximately 1 minute per eye.

Hypothesis: A method of determining contrast sensitivity that does not require letter recognition (as does the Pelli-Robson test) eliminates the barriers of literacy and pattern recognition, to permit a more valid determination of contrast sensitivity.

Patients will perform SPARCS and Pelli-Robson twice; once each with two separate observers for reproducibility and intra-observer reliability. The order of testing will be randomized to SPARCS, Pelli, Pelli, SPARCS or Pelli, SPARCS, SPARCS, Pelli.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 314
• Est. completion date: April 2014
• Est. primary completion date: April 2014
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 yrs of age and older

• able to provide fully informed consent

70 controls (patients with no ocular disease affecting visual acuity or visual function), 10 from each decade of life: 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60, 60-70, 70-80, 80+.

105 patients with ocular hypertension or any type of glaucoma (15 subjects per age decade). Glaucoma patients will not have macular degeneration or visual acuity affected by any function other than glaucoma.

40 patients with macular degeneration: 10 with visual acuity 20/40 or better, 10 with visual acuity between 20/40 and 20/60, 10between 20/100 and 20/400, and 10 with 20/400 or worse.

40 patients with cataracts: 10 with lens opacity 1+nuclear sclerosis, 10 with 2 + nuclear sclerosis, 10 with 3 + nuclear sclerosis, 10 with 4 + nuclear sclerosis.

60 patients with refractive error: 10 with myopia -5 diopters or greater, 10 with myopia between -5 and -2.5, 10 with myopia between -2.5 and -0.5, 10 with myopia between -0.5 and 0.5, 10 with myopia between 0.5 and 2.5, and 10 with myopia > 2.5.

Exclusion Criteria:

• any other diseases affecting visual acuity

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Glaucoma
• Hypersensitivity

Intervention

Diagnostic Test:
• Spaeth/Richman Contrast Sensitivity Test
internet based computerized contrast sensitivity test measuring central and peripheral vision using black and white stripes that decrease in contrast by fading to a white background.
• Pelli-Robson Contrast Sensitivity Chart
wall chart contrast sensitivity test measuring central vision using black letters that decrease in contrast by fading to a white background.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Wills Eye Institute	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Wills Eye	Pfizer

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (4)

Faria BM, Duman F, Zheng CX, Waisbourd M, Gupta L, Ali M, Zangalli C, Lu L, Wizov SS, Spaeth E, Richman J, Spaeth GL. EVALUATING CONTRAST SENSITIVITY IN AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION USING A NOVEL COMPUTER-BASED TEST, THE SPAETH/RICHMAN CONTRAST SENSIT — View Citation

Gupta L, Cvintal V, Delvadia R, Sun Y, Erdem E, Zangalli C, Lu L, Wizov SS, Richman J, Spaeth E, Spaeth GL. SPARCS and Pelli-Robson contrast sensitivity testing in normal controls and patients with cataract. Eye (Lond). 2017 May;31(5):753-761. doi: 10.103 — View Citation

Richman J, Zangalli C, Lu L, Wizov SS, Spaeth E, Spaeth GL. The Spaeth/Richman contrast sensitivity test (SPARCS): design, reproducibility and ability to identify patients with glaucoma. Br J Ophthalmol. 2015 Jan;99(1):16-20. doi: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-201 — View Citation

Sun Y, Erdem E, Lyu A, Zangalli C, Wizov SS, Lo D, Spaeth EE, Richman J, Spaeth GL. The SPARCS: a novel assessment of contrast sensitivity and its reliability in patients with corrected refractive error. Br J Ophthalmol. 2016 Oct;100(10):1421-6. doi: 10.1 — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Contrast Sensitivity, Another Means of Testing Vision	Contrast Sensitivity, a vision measurement, is performed with the Spaeth Richmond Contrast Sensitivity (SPARCS) test. This is a computerized measurement of vision in the central and peripheral fields using black and white stripes. Black stripes decrease in contrast becoming fainter and harder to see until they blend with the white background. Measurements are assessed in five areas of the visual field . Test results are reported for each area ranging from 0 to 20 (0 means can't see stripes; 20 means sees all stripes). Results from all 5 areas are added making the total SPARCS score range 0 - 100 where 0 means poor vision and 100 means best vision. The test takes an average of 3 minutes per eye. The eye not being tested is covered with a patch.	duration of 1 eye exam, approximately 1 hour