Regularly Playing First-person Shooter Video Games Improves Dynamic Visual Acuity.

SIGNIFICANCE: This study investigated the dynamic visual acuity (DVA) in young adults who play action video games regularly compared with nonaction video game players and those without regular experience in video game play. The results indicate better performance in some measurements of DVA in action video game players. PURPOSE: This study aimed to provide new insights into performance on DVA assessments in young adults who play action video games regularly. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted between action video game and nonaction video game players with 47 participants ranging in age from 20 to 30 years. Dynamic visual acuity with two different angular velocities, 57 and 28.5°/s, and three different contrasts, 100, 50, and 10%, were evaluated. A second analysis with 33 participants compared DVA between action video game players and nonexperienced video game players or those spending less than 1 h/wk in gaming. RESULTS: Dynamic visual acuity in the first analysis revealed a nonstatistical significance between groups in all the experimental conditions with 57 and 28.5°/s in three different contrasts. The second analysis with 33 participants revealed a statistical significance in DVA at 57 and 28.5°/s with contrast at 100% ( P = .003 and P < .001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Dynamic visual acuity seems to have better performance in young adults spending more than 5 h/wk with action video games, mostly first-person shooter games.

Topical Review: Optometric Considerations in Sports Versus E-Sports.

Electronic sports (e-sports) have recently emerged to become a rapidly growing form of videogame competition, requiring gamers to spend many hours in front of a visual display. The nature of this new modality raises important considerations for ocular health, and visual and perceptual functioning, compared to traditional sports. In general, sports performance has been associated with open spaces, gross motor movement, and balance, while electronic sports require visual and attentional stamina at near distances with fine motor control. From an optometric viewpoint, visual perception is specific to both the sports modality and the environment where sports take place. In this topical review, we consider e-sport optometric factors such as screen time and digital eyestrain, visual skill demands, and perceptual cognitive skills such as visual attention. We compare training considerations for traditional sports and training in gaming platforms, with recommendations for future research in this growing modality. The goal of this review is to raise awareness of the various elements to consider when providing vision care to e-sport participants.

Efficacy of a Digital Sports Vision Training Program for Improving Visual Abilities in Collegiate Baseball and Softball Athletes.

SIGNIFICANCE: Dynamic reactive sports involve visual abilities such as visual acuity, depth perception, contrast sensitivity, and visual-motor reaction speed. This randomized, double-blinded control design showed no significant improvement in the visual parameters among athletes after training on a digital sports vision training program. PURPOSE: There is a need for evidence supporting the efficacy of recently developed digital training programs. METHODS: Thirty-two athletes from National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III softball and baseball teams were randomly divided into experimental and placebo training groups, undergoing three 20-minute training sessions per week for 3 weeks. The experimental group trained on procedures designed to improve dynamic visual acuity and depth perception, and the placebo group trained on procedures designed to have no direct impact on those same parameters. All measures were recorded at baseline, post-training, and after a month of no training. The athletes also completed a questionnaire to determine the efficacy of the placebo effect. RESULTS: There was no significant effect of evaluation type (post-training and follow-up) and condition (experimental and placebo) on any of the visual parameters. However, stereoacuity, contrast sensitivity, depth perception, and dynamic visual acuity showed minimum effect sizes of 0.5. Fifteen of 16 athletes in the placebo group thought they trained on experimental procedures. CONCLUSIONS: No significant improvement differences were seen between experimental and placebo training groups. However, stereoacuity, contrast sensitivity, and depth perception achieved minimum clinical relevance.

Topical Review: Visual Performance Assessments for Sport.

SIGNIFICANCE: Eye care professionals seek to provide effective vision care for a variety of patient needs, including performance in sports and recreational pursuits. This review provides an analysis of common visual performance assessments, including summaries of recent clinical research from a diverse array of professional literature.Vision is recognized as an important element of sports performance. Elite athletes frequently demonstrate exceptional abilities to see and respond effectively in sports competition. Which visual factors are important and how to most effectively assess visual performance are the sources of much debate. This topical review presents an evidence-based review of the common visual performance factors assessed in athletes, beginning with guidance for conducting a visual task analysis for the variety of sports that athlete patients may compete in. An information processing model is used to provide a framework for understanding the contributions of the many visual performance factors used during sports.

The index lift in data mining has a close relationship with the association measure relative risk in epidemiological studies.

BACKGROUND: Data mining tools have been increasingly used in health research, with the promise of accelerating discoveries. Lift is a standard association metric in the data mining community. However, health researchers struggle with the interpretation of lift. As a result, dissemination of data mining results can be met with hesitation. The relative risk and odds ratio are standard association measures in the health domain, due to their straightforward interpretation and comparability across populations. We aimed to investigate the lift-relative risk and the lift-odds ratio relationships, and provide tools to convert lift to the relative risk and odds ratio. METHODS: We derived equations linking lift-relative risk and lift-odds ratio. We discussed how lift, relative risk, and odds ratio behave numerically with varying association strengths and exposure prevalence levels. The lift-relative risk relationship was further illustrated using a high-dimensional dataset which examines the association of exposure to airborne pollutants and adverse birth outcomes. We conducted spatial association rule mining using the Kingfisher algorithm, which identified association rules using its built-in lift metric. We directly estimated relative risks and odds ratios from 2 by 2 tables for each identified rule. These values were compared to the corresponding lift values, and relative risks and odds ratios were computed using the derived equations. RESULTS: As the exposure-outcome association strengthens, the odds ratio and relative risk move away from 1 faster numerically than lift, i.e. |log (odds ratio)| ≥ |log (relative risk)| ≥ |log (lift)|. In addition, lift is bounded by the smaller of the inverse probability of outcome or exposure, i.e. lift≤ min (1/P(O), 1/P(E)). Unlike the relative risk and odds ratio, lift depends on the exposure prevalence for fixed outcomes. For example, when an exposure A and a less prevalent exposure B have the same relative risk for an outcome, exposure A has a lower lift than B. CONCLUSIONS: Lift, relative risk, and odds ratio are positively correlated and share the same null value. However, lift depends on the exposure prevalence, and thus is not straightforward to interpret or to use to compare association strength. Tools are provided to obtain the relative risk and odds ratio from lift.

Reliability of a computer-based system for measuring visual performance skills.

BACKGROUND: Athletes have demonstrated better visual abilities than nonathletes. A vision assessment for an athlete should include methods to evaluate the quality of visual performance skills in the most appropriate, accurate, and repeatable manner. This study determines the reliability of the visual performance measures assessed with a computer-based system, known as the Nike Sensory Station. METHODS: One hundred twenty-five subjects (56 men, 69 women), age 18 to 30, completed Phase I of the study. Subjects attended 2 sessions, separated by at least 1 week, in which identical protocols were followed. Subjects completed the following assessments: Visual Clarity, Contrast Sensitivity, Depth Perception, Near-Far Quickness, Target Capture, Perception Span, Eye-Hand Coordination, Go/No Go, and Reaction Time. An additional 36 subjects (20 men, 16 women), age 22 to 35, completed Phase II of the study involving modifications to the equipment, instructions, and protocols from Phase I. RESULTS: Results show no significant change in performance over time on assessments of Visual Clarity, Contrast Sensitivity, Depth Perception, Target Capture, Perception Span, and Reaction Time. Performance did improve over time for Near-Far Quickness, Eye-Hand Coordination, and Go/No Go. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that many of the Nike Sensory Station assessments show repeatability and no learning effect over time. The measures that did improve across sessions show an expected learning effect caused by the motor response characteristics being measured.

Comparison of low-contrast visual acuity between eye black and maxsight tinted contact lenses.

OBJECTIVES: Athletes who participate in outdoor activities seek products to reduce glare and improve contrast. This study compares performance of low-contrast visual acuity (VA) in bright outdoor conditions between the Maxsight Amber contact lens (CLs) and clear CLs with and without Eye Black grease. METHODS: Seventeen subjects were fitted with clear CLs, clear lenses with Eye Black grease, Maxsight lenses with Eye Black grease, and Maxsight lenses alone. With each modality, the subject demonstrated low-contrast VA assessed and completed a questionnaire. At the end of testing, subjects completed a questionnaire to survey the performance of each modality. RESULTS: The average low-contrast VA with clear CLs was 20/18.4, which improved to 20/17 with the addition of Eye Black grease (P=0.132). Significant improvement in low-contrast VA was seen with the Maxsight CLs to 20/15.4 (P<0.05), although it was not further improved with the addition of Eye Black grease. The results of the questionnaire showed a preference of the Maxsight CLs throughout the study for low-contrast VA. CONCLUSIONS: Although Eye Black grease has its place in sport and some sporting environments, the benefit in contrast acuity is insignificant. The better performance of the amber Maxsight lenses in this study demonstrates a visual performance benefit in bright sunlight.

Visual performance with sport-tinted contact lenses in natural sunlight.

PURPOSE: The use of tinted and clear contact lenses (CLs) in all aspects of life is becoming a more popular occurrence, particularly in athletic activities. This study broadens previous research regarding performance-tinted CLs and their effects on measures of visual performance. METHODS: Thirty-three subjects (14 male, 19 female) were fitted with clear B&L Optima 38, 50% visible light transmission Amber and 36% visible light transmission Gray-Green Nike Maxsight CLs in an individualized randomized sequence. Subjects were dark-adapted with welding goggles before testing and in between subtests involving a Bailey-Lovie chart and the Haynes Distance Rock test. The sequence of testing was repeated for each lens modality. RESULTS: The Amber and Gray-Green lenses enabled subjects to recover vision faster in bright sunlight compared with clear lenses. Also, subjects were able to achieve better visual recognition in bright sunlight when compared with clear lenses. Additionally, the lenses allowed the subjects to alternate fixation between a bright and shaded target at a more rapid rate in bright sunlight as compared with clear lenses. Subjects preferred both the Amber and Gray-Green lenses over clear lenses in the bright and shadowed target conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study show that Maxsight Amber and Gray-Green lenses provide better contrast discrimination in bright sunlight, better contrast discrimination when alternating between bright and shaded target conditions, better speed of visual recovery in bright sunlight, and better overall visual performance in bright and shaded target conditions compared with clear lenses.