The Effect of Visual Attention Factors on Visual Field Testing for Maintenance of Gaze Fixation

Abstract

The maintenance of gaze fixation during visual field testing is needed to accurately measure the functionality of the optic nerve. The present study is intended to analyze the performance of gaze fixation and evaluate five gaze fixation induction methods (GFIM) including black dot (BD; conventional method), changing color dot (CCD), alphanumeric characters (AC), flashing black dot (FBD), and bulls-eye with cross hair (BECH). Recruiting 32 participants (16 in 20s and 16 in 30s), the experiment was conducted in four steps: (1) preparation, (2) exercising the visual field testing, (3) main experiment for five GFIMs, and (4) debriefing. The performance of gaze fixation was analyzed in terms of correct fixation rate (CFR), and subjective satisfaction was evaluated in terms of ease of gaze fixation (EGF), eye fatigue (EF), and overall satisfaction (OS) using a 11-point Likert bipolar scale. The CFRs of the four new GFIMs were all higher than that of BD (BD = 86.7%, CCD = 87.9%, AC = 88.8%, FBD = 91.5%, and BECH = 88.0%). However, there was no statistically significant difference among the CFR averages of the five GFIMs, but the variances of CFR of the newly proposed GFIMs were all lower than that of BD. The subjective satisfaction of BECH (EGF = 2.0, EF = -0.4, OS = 1.6) was highest. Therefore, BECH was recommended for an effective GFIM to maintain the examinee’s gaze fixation during a visual field testing in both aspects of the performance and the subjective satisfaction.