Abstract

The purpose of this study was to obtain additional information about the health of the retina (HR) by measuring the rate of loss of chromatic sensitivity with decreasing light level. The ${\mathrm{HR}}_{\text{index}}$ is introduced to separate the effects of normal aging from early stage disease. For normal subjects the ${\mathrm{HR}}_{\text{index}}$ is largely independent of age ($r^2\sim 0.1$), but $\sim 11\%$ of clinically normal, asymptomatic, older subjects exhibit values below the $2\sigma$ limit. The ${\mathrm{HR}}_{\text{index}}$ provides a single number that captures how light level affects chromatic sensitivity irrespective of age and can be used to screen for preclinical signs of retinal disease.

©2012 Optical Society of America

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