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Georgios Labiris,1 Eirini-Kanella Panagiotopoulou,1 Erald Duzha,2 Maria Tzinava,2 Asli Perente,1 Aristeidis Konstantinidis,1 Konstantinos Delibasis2 1Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Dragana, 68131, Alexandroupolis, Greece; 2Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, Lamia, 35131, GreeceCorrespondence: Georgios LabirisDepartment of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Dragana, 68131, Alexandroupolis, GreeceTel +30 697 745 5027Fax +30 255 103 0405Email labiris@usa.netPurpose: To develop and validate a web-based reading test for normal and low vision patients.Methods: This is a prospective, comparative trial. The web-based Democritus Digital Acuity Reading Test (wDDART) was developed. wDDART introduces a series of advanced characteristics (advanced text calibration, computer-vision-based estimation of patient’s distance, and automatic calculation of patient’s reading times) that facilitate the overall examination procedure. wDDART’s reading parameters [reading acuity (RA), maximum reading speed (MRS), critical print size (CPS) and reading accessibility index (ACC)] were compared to the corresponding ones of its conventional Windows-based reading test (DDART) in a sample of normal and low vision participants. wDDART’s test–retest reliability for all reading parameters was evaluated in a 15-day time-window.Results: One hundred patients (normal vision group-NVG: 70; low vision group-LVG: 30 patients) responded to DDART and wDDART. Non-significant differences between the two reading tests were found for all parameters in NVG and LVG. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) between the two tests demonstrated good or excellent correlation for RA, MRS, ACC and moderate correlation for CPS. Test–retest reliability was excellent for RA and ACC, while ICCs were 0.715– 0.895 for MRS and CPS.Conclusion: The wDDART demonstrated sufficient validity and repeatability making it suitable for clinical and research settings.Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT04618224.Keywords: presbyopia, reading speed, critical print size, reading acuity, computer vision distance estimation, automatic reading timing, internet, reading

Purpose: To evaluate whether visual performance could be improved in pseudophakic subjects by correcting low levels of postoperative astigmatism., Methods: An exploratory, noninterventional study was conducted using subjects who had been implanted with an aspheric intraocular lens and had 0.5-0.75 diopter postoperative astigmatism. Monocular visual performance using full correction was compared with visual performance using spherical equivalent correction. Testing consisted of high- and low-contrast visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and reading acuity and speed using the Radner Reading Charts., Results: Thirty-eight of 40 subjects completed testing. Visual acuities at three contrast levels (100%, 25%, and 9%) were significantly better using full correction than when using spherical equivalent correction (all P < 0.001). For contrast sensitivity testing under photopic, mesopic, and mesopic with glare conditions, only one out of twelve outcomes demonstrated a significant improvement with full correction compared with spherical equivalent correction (at six cycles per degree under mesopic without glare conditions, P = 0.046). Mean reading speed was numerically faster with full correction across all print sizes, reaching statistical significance at logarithm of the reading acuity determination (logRAD) 0.2, 0.7, and 1.1 (P < 0.05). Statistically significant differences also favored full correction in logRAD score (P = 0.0376), corrected maximum reading speed (P < 0.001), and logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution/logRAD ratio (P < 0.001)., Conclusions: In this study of pseudophakic subjects with low levels of postoperative astigmatism, full correction yielded significantly better reading performance and high- and low-contrast visual acuity than spherical equivalent correction, suggesting that cataractous patients may benefit from surgical correction of low levels of preoperative corneal astigmatism.