Testing glare disability on the move

This year, the Canadian Optometric Education Trust Fund (COETF) awarded funding to 13 research projects conducted by faculty and graduate students at the School of Optometry & Vision Science. This article is part of a series that highlights some of these projects.

Drs. Kristine Dalton and Susan Leat have developed a portable binocular device to test glare disability. Until now, optometrists conducted glare testing using a stationary glare source such as a lightbox or a device attached to a phoropter. This new technology, called D&ZZLE, will allow them to take measurements of both eyes at once in a variety of settings, rather than limiting them to the examination room.

While Dalton and Leat are currently using D&ZZLE to measure glare sensitivity in older adults and people with age-related eye diseases, the technology’s portable nature means it could be applied to many other populations and in a variety of locations, from a ski hill to a driving simulator.

The COETF funding will allow for further validation testing that will support a patent application for D&ZZLE.