Normal Contrast Sensitivity in 200 Children Aged Seven to 13 Years

Anne Fitzgerald, DipAppSc(Cumb), DOBA

The Vistech VCTS 6000 and 6500 tests are designed to accurately assess contrast sensitivity under a specified illumination. A normal range of contrast sensitivities was provided by Vistech for both tests based on results from 300 subjects ranging in age from 10 to 70 years. As contrast sensitivity varies with age it was hypothesised that the normal given may not have accurately reflected contrast sensitivity for children. Two hundred children between the ages of seven and 13 years (with 6/6, N5 Vision and no strabismus) were assessed with both tests. Results show that subjects in this age group are more sensitive to low contrast for high spatial frequency gratings than the test normals suggested.