Introducing
the Dyop® The
“Revolutionary” Method for Measuring Visual Clarity (Acuity) Helping the world see more clearly, one person at a time.
The world we see is dynamic,
rather than static. To help us
survive, our eyes are biological machines which enable us
to detect motion, distance, and colors
so that we can see predators and food and are able to eat rather than be
eaten. Vision is a dynamic process inherent in all animals. Visual acuity is the term used to describe the clarity of how well you see. A refraction
is the process of using special lenses for measuring the sphere, cylinder, and axis optical variables which go into
creating eyeglasses and contact lenses to compensate for “less than perfect”
vision. Typical vision tests use
static letters or symbols as the standard targets for measuring vision. The flaw with static measurement systems is that they are typically only two dimensional using the height
of the visual target and the viewing distance to that target. Instead, the world we see (the “real world”). is a fifth
dimensional process consisting of height,
width, colors, distance, and time. A Dyop® (pronounced
“di-op”) is a calibrated segmented spinning ring visual target (aka, optotype)
which helps doctors (and you) test how clear your vision is. A
Dyop provides a strobic stimulus to the photoreceptors in the center
rear area of the retinal of your eye called the fovea. (See the illustrations and details
below). Dyop testing is better than
vision testing methods which use letters (aka, the 1862 Snellen “Big E”
test) or other static shapes because it is based on how your eyes work. As the Dyop diameter gets smaller, its
alternating gaps and segments get proportionately smaller. When the spinning Dyop gaps get sufficiently
small, the stimulus area of each gap is smaller than the minimum AREA to
stimulate the color-receptive
photoreceptors in the rear (fovea) area of the retina, which are clusters of
about 20 color-receptive photoreceptors.
When the Dyop gaps become too small to stimulate the clusters
of photoreceptors, the perception is that spinning of the Dyop ring is
not detected because the stimulus of
the gaps and segments tend to merge. A
Dyop NOT detected as spinning has a “sub-acuity” diameter. As the Dyop diameter
is increased to enable the gaps to
stimulate a minimum of 20 fovea photoreceptors, that minimum Dyop diameter
where spinning IS detected is
the Acuity endpoint. That minimum size threshold for
detecting the gaps as spinning is also called the Minimum AREA of Resolution (MAR).
(The biggest flaw in previous acuity testing, and acuity “standards”
when using letters is that Snellen viewed acuity as a two-dimensional, letter
height and viewing distance, problem and mistakenly called it the “Minimum
ARC of Resolution”.) The result of using a Dyop for
acuity and refractions is that a Dyop is up to three times more efficient than 1862
static Snellen letter-based tests (which also uses culturally dependent Recognition Acuity static letters
or symbols), up to six times more precise, and up to eight times more consistent. A Dyop also can measure acuity regardless of the subjects’
literacy skills or culture, and easily
enables testing of children or infants, and enables measurement of acuity in
color for potential diagnostic and/or therapeutic use. Static vision tests
(e.g., Snellen) are based on how well you recognize
culturally dependent letters or symbols, are influenced by where
you're from, or how much you've practiced (or memorized). Using a Dyop makes vision testing simpler,
faster, more precise, and more consistent. = = = = = = =
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= = = = = = = Sample Dyop Tests Online Dyop Visual Acuity Test Open the acuity (visual clarity) test
with the above link. Note the smallest
pair of Dyop rings you can detect as spinning. View the spinning rings at a five-foot
distance. The center row of numbers between the
smallest pair of rings you can detect as spinning rings is the measure of your acuity. (Below are static images of the Dyop
online Acuity test.) Dyop
acuity screening test for use at 5
feet Dyop acuity screening test for use at 10 feet
Online Dyop Color Screening Test Open the acuity (visual clarity) test with the above
link. View the spinning rings at a
five-foot distance. The
smallest colored Dyop ring (Blue/Black or Green/White) you can detect as
spinning indicates your color acuity profile. The row of numbers below the smallest
colored ring you can detect as spinning is the measure of your color acuity. Preferentially
seeing the smaller Blue/Black rather than the Green/White indicates a
probability of
symptoms of dyslexia, migraines or epilepsy. Dyslexia and Color
Perception https://www.dyop.net/documents/Dyslexia_and_Color_Perception-SandraStark.pdf Color Perception as a
Diagnostic https://www.dyop.net/documents/ASOP-06-0651-Dyop_Color_Perception.pdf Advances in Dyslexia
Management https://www.dyop.net/documents/Advances in Dyslexia
Management.pdf (Below are static images of the Dyop
online Color Screening tests.) = = = = = = = =
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= = = = = = Dyop
Visual-Impairment Test A Dyop may also
be used to evaluate the visual/mental impairment associated with conditions
such as marijuana intoxication, PTSD, concussion injuries, and other possible
mental difficulties such as Alzheimer’s. https://www.dyop.net/documents/Dyop_Visual-Impairment_Test-x10.swf.html Use the link above to open the Dyop Visual-impairment
test. Note that THIS is a Timed Test. Click the word “Start” at the top of
the test to begin. Additional details are at: https://www.dyop.net/impairment.htm (Below is a
static image of the initial screen for the Dyop Visual-Impairment Test.) Note that when the test starts, there will be FIVE
Dyops on the screen but only ONE of them is spinning. Use a computer mouse or touch screen to click the
arrow adjacent to the SINGLE spinning Dyop to indicate its spin direction.
That Dyop will stop spinning, but ONE of the other FOUR Dyops will then start
spinning. Click the arrow adjacent to that next spinning Dyop
to indicate its spin direction. (Below is a
static image of the response screen for the Dyop Visual-Impairment Test.) When you have found and detected all TEN of the
spinning Dyop test response trials, the screen will display the number of Correct Selections and
the elapsed Test Time. A test completion time of 14 to 16 seconds with 10
correct responses indicates mental alertness. A test completion time of 21 to 26 seconds with less
than 10 correct responses indicates minor mental impairment. A test completion time of 28 to 32 seconds with less
than 8 correct responses indicates increased mental impairment. A test completion time of 35 to 40 seconds with less
than 6 correct responses indicates significant mental impairment. (Below is a static image of a final response screen
for the Dyop Visual-Impairment Test.) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = What Regulates Acuity For vision to be effective and efficient, it needs to be autonomic (so
that we are unaware of that process).
However, acuity is NOT
regulated by the brain. As light goes through the
cornea and lens, it is bent so that Blue is focused in FRONT of the retina, Green is focused ON the retina, and Red is focused BEHIND of the retina. (See the diagram below.) Acuity is regulated by the relative
focal depths and intensity of those colors as they are perceived by the color
sensitive photoreceptors in the fovea at the back of your eyes. Those color sensitive photoreceptors
then send their signals forward to the layer of neuroganglia in
front of the retina. That neuroganglia layer of cells then sends a signal to
the lens to regulate the shape of the lens to bring that image into focus. The process of
combining the response of the color-sensitive photoreceptors to light and
color is like the pixel images you see on
your computer monitor, tablet, or Smartphone. You think you are seeing lines, shapes,
letters, and/or words. What you really are seeing are
pixels of light moving rapidly across the surface of your
computer screen, tablet, or Smartphone in
combinations of Red, Green, and Blue. This process of acuity regulation and
accommodation is called Chromatic Triangulation. Chromatic Triangulation is based on the
concept of the refraction of light that Isaac Newton discovered in 1665 when
he filtered light through a prism. Dyslexia and Color
Perception https://www.dyop.net/documents/Dyslexia_and_Color_Perception-SandraStark.pdf Color Perception as a
Diagnostic https://www.dyop.net/documents/ASOP-06-0651-Dyop_Color_Perception.pdf A simple experiment to demonstrate that
acuity is regulated by the Chromatic Triangulation of Red, Green, and Blue, rather than by the brain, is to close one eye and look around the
room where you are now. You will
notice that with only one eye open you can still determine the relative
distance to nearby objects without the need for binocular vision. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
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Acuity is Measured The
properties of visual clarity (acuity) are the SIZE (area) OF THE IMAGE being observed, the VIEWING
DISTANCE to that image, and the
ability of the visual system to PROCESS THAT IMAGE as clearly as possible (Resolution
Acuity). As a Dyop® spinning ring gets smaller, the
(equally sized) gaps and segments become so small that it becomes impossible
(sub-acuity) for the eye to detect the spin direction of the Dyop ring rotation. The Dyop acuity endpoint is the smallest Dyop diameter where the direction
of rotation of the spinning ring can still be detected. It serves as a precise, physiological
indicator of visual clarity and vision correction. A Dyop test can measure vision without the need
for patient literacy, measure vision in infants as young as 14
months of age, and let doctors precisely measure vision in
color enabling potential diagnostics for symptoms of dyslexia and glaucoma.
Static acuity tests (such as Snellen
letters) are inherently imprecise, inconsistent. They mistake the process of visual
cognition for visual resolution and have an overly large stimulus
area (1.0 arc minutes squared) as the benchmark vision rather than the
empirically determined smaller Dyop stimulus gap area (0.54 arc
minutes squared). Additionally, static
vision tests such as Snellen deplete the
dynamic response of the color receptive photoreceptors in the fovea and lack
the uniform precision of Dyop testing.
The result is that static vision tests tend to add excess minus power
to acuity and refractions, lead
to angular elongation of the eye and increased myopia and indicate that
Snellen testing may be a factor in the Global Epidemic
of Myopia. https://www.dyop.net/documents/Snellen_vs_Dyop_Refractions-Sanni.pdf https://www.dyop.net/documents/ASOP-2022-01_Sanni-update.pdf A simple test to verify that your lenses are too strong (with too much minus power IF you wear glasses), is to push your glasses about a half inch away
from your face and see if the words you are reading become larger and more
legible. If you notice that the words
get more legible, that Snellen-induced excess minus
power of your glasses is typically about 0.25 to 0.50 diopters. While it isn’t much, it does reduce your
cognition and possibly your IQ by 10 points. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The Dyop® (Dynamic Optotype™) tests and
concept are covered under U.S. Patent
US 8,083,353 and International
Published Patent WO 2011/022428. for further information contact: Allan Hytowitz at Allan@Dyop.org 5035 Morton Ferry
Circle, Johns Creek, GA, 30022 /
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