Dyop® - Dynamic
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Introducing the Dyop® The “Revolutionary” Method for Measuring
Visual Clarity (Acuity)
Basic Online Dyop Acuity Test https://www.dyop.net/documents/Dyop_acuity_screening.gif Basic
Online Dyop Color Screening Test Basic
Dyop Blue Green Visual Screening Test Dyop Presentation 2024 https://www.dyop.net/documents/Dyop-Presentation_2024.mp4 The world
we see is dynamic, NOT static.
Our eyes are biological machines enabling us to detect motion,
distance, and colors so that we can detect predators and game and eat rather
than be eaten. Vision is a dynamic
process inherent in all animals. A Dyop®
(pronounced “di-op”) is a spinning segmented ring visual target which creates
a strobic stimulus for the fovea photoreceptors and used to measure visual acuity
(clarity) and refractions (the lens variables to correct aberrant
vision). The benefit of using a Dyop®
is not only that it uses the physiology of Resolution Acuity (rather
than culturally dependent Recognition Acuity), but from the simplicity
of the test methodology and the added precision and consistency. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
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As a
Dyop® image gets smaller, the spinning (equally sized) gaps and segments
become so small that it becomes impossible to detect the direction of the
Dyop rotation. The acuity endpoint
(for maximum visual clarity) is the smallest Dyop diameter where the
direction of the ring’s spinning can be detected and is a precise indicator
of vision and vision correction. A
sub-acuity Dyop is where the gaps are too small to detect the Dyop rotation. Vision is
also a RESOLUTION process which becomes a RECOGNITION process as we learn to
interpret the visual stimuli. Treating
vision ONLY as a RECOGNITION process may be “convenient” but it inherently
misses the actual functionality, the underlying processes of vision, and
(using 1862 “standards”) is inherently inaccurate, inconsistent, and
inefficient. Visual
acuity (clarity) is also a function of the SIZE of the image being observed,
the DISTANCE to that image, and the ability of the visual system to make the
perceived Resolution of the image appear as clear as possible. For vision to be effective and efficient we
have to be totally unaware of the process.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = As you are reading
this on your computer monitor, tablet, or Smartphone, you
think that you are seeing lines or shapes or letters or words. What
you are actually seeing are pixels of light moving rapidly across the
surface of your computer screen, tablet, or Smartphone in
combinations of the colors of Red, Green,
and Blue. That dynamic motion of
those moving pixels keeps the image from burning itself into the screen of
the monitor. Those pixels of
electronic light are perceived by the color-sensitive cone photoreceptors
in the back of your retina (called the fovea) giving you the perception of vision.
The automatic refresh rate of those photoreceptors keeps the image from
burning out your perception and helps to keep the image dynamic.
The
result is that a Dyop uses Resolution Acuity and
is up to six times as precise as 1862 Snellen letter-based testing
which uses culturally dependent Recognition Acuity of
static letters or symbols, up to eight times as consistent, and up
to three times as efficient. A
Dyop also can measure acuity regardless of the
subjects’ literacy skills or culture, and easily
enables testing of children or infants, as well as enabling measurement of acuity
in color for potential diagnostic and therapeutic use. The
precise Dyop stimulus area results in Dyop acuity having a linear increase in
diameter and diopters of blur versus Snellen testing which has a logarithmic
increase in height with diopters of blur due to the bloated Snellen stimulus
area. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = When you look at an
object, the mechanics of vision is that the biological lens in the
front of the eye changes its shape to focus that image (in a process called
accommodation) on the back center (fovea) area of the retina. For viewing
distance images, the lens is thin. For viewing near images,
the lens becomes rounded to bend the light. That accommodation
process of the lens in changing its shape keeps Visual Acuity dynamic
when you look at letters or words or lines or shapes due to the refresh
rate of the photoreceptors. That refresh rate of the
photoreceptors of about 0.33 arc minutes squared per second (akin to the shutter
speed of a camera) provides a dynamic response of the Red, Green,
and Blue colors to
give you the perception of vision. However, the colors Red, Green, and Blue have
disparate and distinctive focal depths where Red is
focused BEHIND the retina, Green ON the
retina, and Blue in FRONT of
the retina. Those focal depths
provide Chromatic Triangulation to regulate the shape of the
lens of the eye and the resulting focal depth of the image being
viewed. It also enables being able to determine the relative
viewing distance to an object using just one eye. Rather than accommodation being regulated
by the brain, accommodation is the learned response as to the comparative
focal depth for Red and Green. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = HOW YOU
SEE is primarily affected by the ratio of
the Red vs. Green color-sensitive
photoreceptors in the fovea of your eye. A more balanced
ratio of Red vs. Green photoreceptors
(50% Red and 45%
Green) provides a more Stable Near Image
facilitating the use of letter-based words and is associated with
cultures that use letter-based words and “Western
technology.” A higher ratio
of Red/Green photoreceptors (75%
Red and 20%
Green) provides a more Stable
Distance Image but also causes Near
Vision Stress. The
evolutionary advantage of a more Stable
Distance Image is that it facilitates being able to
spot predators and game and is associated with cultures and gene-pools which
use pictographic writing. That Unstable
Near Image from Near
Vision Stress is typically associated with symptoms of
dyslexia, migraines, and epilepsy. Response to colors by the biological lens Chromatic
Triangulation has Green Focused ON the
retina.
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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The Dynamics of Visual Acuity is
provided by the refresh rate of the photoreceptors located in the back of the
retina. That photoreceptor refresh allows the neurons on the inner
surface of the retina to act as the equivalent of a biological circuit board. It also allows the photoreceptors to use
the constantly changing Chromatic Triangulation of the Red, Green, and Blue focal
depths to regulate acuity. The deceptive factor of Black/White acuity
measurement is that it masks the mechanics of accommodation regulation.
Much as
twenty-first century digital cameras use computerized electronic pixels to
respond to colors and intensity to create the images we see, the eye
functions as a pixelized receptor of retina stimuli to create vision and
bring that image into focus. The eye has about 100 photoreceptors
merged into every optic nerve going to the brain, however the Minimum AREA of
Resolution as empirically determined by a Dyop is 0.54 arcminutes squared
which is about the stimulus area of twenty fovea photoreceptors. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = In his 2011 Proctor Lecture presentation
Dr. Richard Masland described retina functioning as being similar to a
"biological computer" with the photoreceptors functioning much as
binary switches.
https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2188127 Retinal_cells -
Masland_Procter Lecture.pdf A simple
illustration of the functioning of vision as a dynamic process and
photoreceptor depletion is The Lilac Chaser Illusion. When
you fixate on the Plus (+) in the center of the ring of Pink circles
below, you likely see the Pink circles seeming to rotate
around that Plus. But it is also likely that you will see
a single moving Green circle
which appears to spin around the plus. The
illusion of the Green circle
appearing is because of the depletion of the Red photoreceptor
refresh resulting in the inability to “see” the color Red and
creating the illusion (delusion) that the depleted
photoreceptor area is seeing a Green circle. The
Chromostereopsis rings make the contrasting blue ring move up and/or
down depending on how long you look at it.
The other two illusions illustrate the creation of cognition (Open
Your Eyes) even if it isn’t there, and the refresh effect of the saccades
to create an illusion of motion (Moving Dimple Pattern) even when it
isn’t there. Typical Visual Illusions
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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = How We See Click here for the How
We See White
Paper
The
strobic stimulus of the spinning Dyop gaps/segments functions
as a (binary) on/off switch to stimulate the photoreceptors and uses Resolution
Acuity in response to the photoreceptor’s refresh movements. The strobic Dyop stimulus provides a pixelized
photoreceptor response to the images you are seeing. The acuity
endpoint is the smallest diameter Dyop (whose diameter is measured in arc
minutes) where the direction of spinning can be detected. A sub-acuity Dyop is where the
gaps/segments are too small to sufficiently stimulate enough fovea
photoreceptors to enable detection of the Dyop as spinning. Measuring the Dyop diameter in arcminutes
eliminates the cultural bias of Feet/Meters and insures that the Dyop
diameter is collaborated with the viewing distance. A Black/White-on-Gray Dyop
is used to be comparable to the current vision “standard” using Recognition
Acuity as based upon the 1862 cultural assumption by Dutch ophthalmologist
Herman Snellen. Snellen assumed that
static letters such as “E” and “C,” could use the detection of the size and
differences between those letters and accurately measure acuity and
refractions. Letter-based vision tests
use an assumed stimulus gap area (the Minimum AREA of Resolution - MAR)
of 1.0 arc minutes squared. That Snellen
letter-based 1.0 arc minutes squared stimulus AREA is
almost twice the size of the empirically derived 0.54 arc
minutes squared Dyop actual Minimum AREA of
Resolution based on the actual physiological response of the eye. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Cognition of European-type letters-based
letters becomes a guessing game for both the doctor and patient and measures
conceptual processing by the patient as much as it does visual clarity. The Snellen stimulus gap excess area
creates a logarithmic pattern where increases in the size of the letter
doubles with increases of diopters of visual blur. That logarithmic increase (aka, LogMAR) is
as much a measure of the inherent error of Snellen testing as it is of
acuity. Static letter-based acuity tests are also
inherently imprecise not only because they mistake the process of cognition
for physiological resolution processes, but because the letters are
imprecise, inconsistent, with an overly large stimulus area to benchmark
vision rather than the empirically determined smaller Dyop stimulus
size. As a result, Snellen testing
mistakes cognition for visual resolution, and improperly and imprecisely
“measures” vision. Because vision is actually a dynamic process,
using Recognition Acuity and static targets to measure
vision, also depletes the response of the photoreceptors, and tends to
produce an overminused (excess spherical power) refraction.
The strobic stimulus
of the spinning Black/White-on-Gray Dyop gap/segments functions
as a (binary) on/off switch to stimulate the
photoreceptors. As the stimulus area of the Dyop gap/segment AREA becomes
too small, that stimulus area becomes smaller than the minimum AREA of
photoreceptor visual resolution. The angular arc width of the
smallest diameter Dyop ring detected as spinning creates an acuity endpoint
which provides a precise, accurate, and efficient method of measuring visual
acuity. That precise acuity endpoint
also creates optimum values for sphere, cylinder, and axis and aids in
avoiding an overminused refraction. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = That 10% stroke width and 40 RPM rotation rate also seem to be
the optimum values for Dyop attributes and maximizing its precision and
accuracy. The “optimum Dyop” has a 10% stroke width
with 8 uniformly spaced gaps and 8 contrasting segments and a 40 RPM rotation
rate which creates a 0.54 arc minutes squared stimulus area (Minimum Area of
Resolution – MAR). The
smallest Dyop gap/segment stimulus area detected spinning as the minimum
visual stimulus threshold area (Minimum AREA of
Resolution - MAR) of 0.54 arc minutes squared correlates to
about 20 photoreceptors. That threshold is
significantly more precise, consistent, and efficient than staring at
letters. The actual direction of Dyop spinning is
irrelevant. The detection of spinning also lets
the Dyop test be used for individuals who “can’t read,” infants and
young children, and individuals with letter-processing problems such as
dyslexia. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The current global “standard” for measuring
vision was developed in 1862, and is based upon the cultural ability of
Europeans to detect the size and differences between static letters such as
“E” and “C.” As a result, Snellen testing mistakes cognition for
acuity, it improperly and imprecisely “measures” vision, it is culturally
biased, and it is dependent upon the subject having letter-based literacy. “Classical” Static and letter-based vision
tests use a theoretical gap stimulus area (the Minimum AREA of Resolution) of
1.0 arc minutes squared. That letter-based stimulus AREA is
larger than the empirically derived 0.54 arc minutes squared Dyop actual
Minimum AREA of Resolution. That Static MAR correlates to a
cluster of about 40 photoreceptors. Static letter-based tests are also
inherently imprecise because they use the cognition of cultural shapes to
benchmark vision rather than the actual physiological response of the
eye. Cognition of European-type letters-based letters become a guessing
game for both the doctor and patient and measures conceptual processing by
the patient as much as it does visual clarity. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Until now, however, how we see and how our
eyes adjust its visual focus has remained a mystery. Your eyes function similar to the pixels
receptors of a computerized video camera. The eye’s photoreceptors
not only allow you to see in color (primarily Red, Green, and Blue),
but the refresh rate of the photoreceptors, the saccade process, and the
matrix stimulus of the inner layer of neuroganglia by the photoreceptors
allows you to track changes in the location of those images.
However, the neuroganglia layer of the retina “process” those photoreceptor
responses in clusters of about 20 photoreceptors much as a biological circuit
board with the emphasis on patterns of motion and proximity. The
response of about 100 photoreceptors, as combined by the neuroganglia, create
the stimulus for each optic nerve fiber going to the brain which, in turn,
creates vision and brings that image into focus. The comparative
focal depth of the Red, Green, and Blue
colors of the images also regulates the shape of the biological lens and
adjusts focal clarity in a process we call Chromatic Triangulation. The strobic stimulus of the spinning
Black/White-on-Gray Dyop gap/segments functions as a (binary)
on/off switch to stimulate the photoreceptors. As the stimulus
area of the Dyop gap/segment AREA becomes too small, that stimulus area
becomes smaller than the minimum AREA of photoreceptor
visual resolution. The angular arc width of the smallest diameter
Dyop ring detected as spinning creates an acuity endpoint which provides a
precise, accurate, and efficient method of measuring visual acuity. That precise acuity endpoint also creates optimum values
for sphere, cylinder, and axis and aids in avoiding an overminused
refraction. The retinal pixel process is similar to the
display of a television or your computer. Detecting the spinning
gaps/segments is similar to detecting the electronic
pixels. Computer pixels are so small that, unless you are close
enough, you only see lines or shapes and NOT the pixels. As the spinning gap/segment area of
a Dyop gets too small due to the angular width of the ring getting
smaller, that gap/segment photoreceptor stimulus area becomes too small for
the photoreceptor clusters to detect that motion. That smallest Dyop stimulus
area detected as spinning creates a visual clarity threshold
(acuity endpoint) and is a cluster area of about 20
photoreceptors. That Dyop acuity and refraction endpoint is also
significantly more precise than staring at letters inherent in the Snellen test
because it is functionally about half the area (0.54 arc minutes squared)
than the 1.0 arc minute squared average Snellen stimulus area. The
ability to detect motion is also a survival tool as critical as detecting the
size of the image itself. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = We See in Color
Color
Acuity can also be used for diagnostic tests. See http://www.bluegreenscreening.com for the details and that Dyop test.
Color Acuity can
also be used for diagnostic tests. Basic Dyop Blue
Green Visual Screening Test Certain
Dyop color/contrast combinations can also be used to screen for potential
symptoms of dyslexia, migraines, and epilepsy. Rather
than accommodation being regulated by the length of the eye, the adjustment
as to accommodation is the learned response as to the comparative focal depth
for Red and Green. The
deceptive factor of Black/White acuity measurement is that
it masks the mechanics of accommodation regulation. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Brief
History of Vision Measurement Thousands of years ago, visual clarity
(acuity) was defined by the ability to see the nighttime gap between two of
the smaller stars in the handle of the Big Dipper constellation.
In 1862 Dutch Ophthalmologist Herman
Snellen used the ability to identify (European) letters as the benchmark for
visual acuity. Reading had become a dominant economic and social
skill in Europe. Snellen used the convenience of black letters on
a white background as the benchmark although most of what we see is
NOT in black and white and other cultures use pictographs rather than
letter-based words. While twenty first century technology is letter-based
technology, today’s visual acuity is primarily measured by the clarity and
ability to read text on an electronic display. Unfortunately,
vision science has not kept up with the precision and demands of those 21st century
visual needs. The use of Dynamic
Visual Acuity to provide increased precision, increased consistency,
and increased efficiency of the Dyop® tests are intended as a global
replacement for Static Visual Acuity letter-based tests such
as Snellen, Sloan, and Landolt optotypes, and provide a more universal and
efficient method of vision measurement. = = = = = = = = = = = =
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= = Origin
of the Dyop® Concept http://www.dyop.net/documents/Origin_of_Dyops.pdf A
“Perfect Storm of repeated mis-prescriptions” led to the Dyop Tests
Allan's Productivity - 1988 to 2008 This Dyop "personal research
history" is anecdotal. However, all of the discoveries and
research have been peer-review validated by academically trained optometry
professors. Their research was also provided at NO charge due to their
scientific curiosity and the potential of improving visual processes.
The goal of the anecdotal research has been having those discoveries
reproducible and simple enough so that they could be peer-review
validated. The nature of the discoveries and the scientific validation
has been stunning and delightful. The observations which followed over the
next ten years are from discovering how and why that consistent Snellen-generated
overminus occurred. = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = It is easy to detect an image which needs a
more spherical lens power because it will appear blurry. It is
more difficult to detect an image which has too much spherical power because
the image will appear to be hyper-crisp. The advantage of a Dyop
test versus static images is that the Dyop arc width diameter will reach a
minimum when the combination of the optimum sphere, cylinder, and axis is
achieved. The
inherent tendency to fixate on static images during vision testing tends to
result in a measurement with excess visual sphere. Eyeglass and
contact wearers tend to NOT be aware of their overminus. The "optimum" Dyop rotation rate
seems to be a 7.6 arc minute and the "optimum" stroke width seems
to be 40 rpm for a Dyop 20/20 acuity endpoint. The
"optimum" Dyop stimulus area equivalent to a Snellen 20/20, or Metric
6/6, acuity and refraction endpoint is 0.54 arc minutes squared, or the
equivalent of about 20 photoreceptors. That "optimum" 0.54 arc minute
squared stimulus area at a 40-rpm rotation speed creates a photoreceptor
refresh rate (much like the shutter speed of a camera) of 0.33 arc minutes
squared per second. Dyop
vs. Snellen Comparison A
comparison of the Dyop test vs. the Snellen/Sloan/Landolt tests leads to the
following conclusions as to the flaws inherent in Snellen-type
letter-based vision testing. 1. The
stimulus seen by the color-perceptive cone photoreceptors in the retina
foveal area is a two-dimensional AREA rather than a
one-dimensional value of height as defined by Snellen. 3. Dyop acuity and refraction
measurement is based on the more precise RESOLUTION Acuity of the eye
rather than the culturally dependent and subjective RECOGNITION Acuity
as interpreted by the eye care examiner. 4. The (empirically determined) optimum
Dyop stimulus AREA is 0.54 arc minutes squared. The
assumed Snellen/Sloan/Landolt tests have a theoretical stimulus AREA of
1.0 arc minute squared, which is almost two-fold excess size of the
Snellen stimulus AREA.
That bloated assumed stimulus AREA is the reason for
static-letter-based tests having a logarithmic increase in size or viewing
distance with a linear increase in diopters of blur whereas the (empirically
determined) Dyop stimulus AREA has a linear diameter
increase with an increase in blur and/or viewing distance. 5. Acuity and cognition are separate
components of vision. The physiological Resolution Acuity response
to the Dyop test eliminates the Recognition Acuity cultural bias of
European letters as well as increases the consistency and universality of the
Dyop response. Dyop acuity and
refraction testing is up to six times as precise as Snellen testing, up to
eight times as consistent, and up to three times as efficient. Dyop testing can also be used in
non-literate individuals, children, and infants, and can be used to measure
acuity in color for diagnostic and potential therapeutic purposes. 6. Motion detection is an inherent
facet of acuity. Motion detection can be used in infants and
non-literate adults to determine the acuity endpoint as the smallest stimulus
where that motion is still detected. The actual 0.54 arc minute
squared MAR stimulates only about 20 photoreceptors, so that about five
clusters (100 photoreceptors) result in the stimulus generated for the
response of each optic nerve fiber. 7. “Identically sized” letter-based
static optotypes do not have an identical visual response due to their
irregularity. Individuals habituated to the hyper-crispness of
electronic images, due to the Stiles-Crawford effect, tend to respond differently
to fuzzy optotypes in wanting to maximize the black/white contrast by having
the examiner increase the visual power. That “excess minus power” is
likely a factor in the 21st century Global Epidemic of Myopia. 8. The response of the cone
photoreceptors is a transient bioelectrical stimulus from specific
wavelengths of light. Refreshing that photoreceptor transient response
is promoted by the saccade process. As a result, static optotype image
fixation extinguishes the normal photoreceptor refresh rate (calculated to be
0.33 arc minutes squared per second) leading to visual stress, reduced
acuity, and an overminused refraction. 9. Accommodation is a learned
response based on the focal depth of red, green, and blue in relation to the
retina. This is reflected in the disparity and variances in color
acuity with the Dyop test which validates that accommodation is a color
perception function, which we define as Chromatic Triangulation. 10. Not all trichromats have the same
ratio of Red/Green
photoreceptors. Variations in trichromat response are associated with
chromatin-associated maladies such as dyslexia, migraines, and epilepsy
(primarily a 75% Red and 20%
Green
ratio versus a less stressed red/green ratio (50% Red
and 45% Green). 11. Variances in color acuity are
genetic in origin and have a cultural/psychological effect on an
individual. The stresses of near vision contribute to individuals with
high-red photoreceptor ratios having a tendency for chromatic stress related
maladies (Near Vision Stress),
and a psychological preference toward a more structured (authoritarian)
environment and visual compensation of excess confidence resulting in the
Dunning-Krueger Effect. The ADDED problem of NOT
having Optimum Acuity/Refraction is that it impairs cognition as well as
vision. https://www.dyop.net/dyslexia-default.htm
We
are NO LONGER in the Age
of Information or the Age
of Information Overload. We are now in the Age
of Comprehension. Since
the use of the Snellen test consistency increases the myopic power of a
refraction, it contributes to the increase in global myopia and a loss of
cognition. The scientific and
commercialization benefits of the Dyop concept are due to its increased
precision, consistency, efficiency, and broader range of vision test
attributes, and universal patient acceptance versus "conventional"
(1862) static-letter-visual testing. “Any
sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” “Technology
is our word for stuff we don’t understand.” Technology
is the use of increasingly accurate, self-evident, and reproducible information
to replace time, energy, and matter. The
benefit of technology is NOT in what it lets people accomplish, but in
how it improves the character of people. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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@DyopVision.org 5035
Morton Ferry Circle, Johns Creek, GA, 30022
/ 404-281-7798 Copyright
©2024 DyopVision™ Associates. All Rights Reserved. |