https://conferences.lnu.se/index.php/sjovs <p>Scandinavian Journal of Optometry and Visual Science is an open-access peer-reviewed journal for promoting research amongst optometrists and other researchers in optometry and visual science.</p> Linnaeus University Press en-US Scandinavian Journal of Optometry and Visual Science 1891-0890 <p>Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution License</a> that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.</p> https://conferences.lnu.se/index.php/sjovs/article/view/4223 <p>Stroke patients are not routinely screened for visual deficits despite recommendations on the importance of vision for safety and design of rehabilitation plans. The aim was to examine if it was feasible to expose rehabilitation patients to vision screening. Secondly, we aimed to examine the agreement between the vision screening and items from a neurological stroke screening tool specifically targeting vision and neglect. Over a period of 6 months, patients arriving at a rehabilitation unit after having had a stroke were consecutively included. Data on aetiology, severity, and location of the stroke, time since the original admission, scores on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and results from a short screening/observation battery were registered. Cohen’s kappa was calculated to examine the agreement between results from the screening/observation battery and NIHSS items. Nighty-six percent of the patients were able to undergo screening of basic visual functions. Impairment was found in 52% of the patients, and 67% of these showed impairment in more than one function. Visual impairment occurred for all levels of stroke severity. Reduced distance visual acuity was found in 15% of all patients. Accordance between the screening/observation battery and NIHSS items varied between κ = 0.36 and κ = 0.64. Screening battery vs NIHSS items showed impairment in 31% vs. 21% of patients for oculomotor deficits, 31% vs. 34% for visual field deficits and 31% vs. 29% for neglect. Results show that patients are assessable for basic visual functions early in the rehabilitation process. Items from the NIHSS cannot replace a dedicated vision screening tool because they exclude essential functions such as visual acuity, and oculomotor deficits may go undetected. Only the visual field assessment indicates substantial agreement and high sensitivity. Regarding stroke severity, agreement was substantial only in the severe group. In summary, we conclude that the NIHSS items cannot be recommended to replace systematic screening of visual function and neglect.</p> Eike Wehling Eirik Vikane Siri Hanne Betten Lysgård Tina Taule Silje Karin Pedersen Anne Helen Jacobsen Eline A. Kordt Copyright (c) 2025 Eike Wehling, Eirik Vikane, Siri Hanne Betten Lysgård, Tina Taule, Silje Karin Pedersen, Anne Helen Jacobsen, Eline A. Kordt https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2025-05-16 2025-05-16 18 1 1–7 1–7 10.15626/sjovs.v18i1.4223 https://conferences.lnu.se/index.php/sjovs/article/view/4329 <p>The ability to move one's hand quickly and accurately towards a target is an essential skill that underpins many activities of daily living, such as writing or threading a needle. In-lab research has previously demonstrated that the time taken to complete an aiming task is proportional to task difficulty; however, the strength of this relationship appears to reduce as the quality of visual input becomes degraded (Wu et al, 2010). There is also evidence that when compared to full vision, monocular vision leads to a general increase in movement time during aiming tasks (Sheppard et al, 2021). Despite these valuable findings, logistical challenges (e.g. recruitment from hard-to-reach populations) make in-lab testing difficult or even impossible. These potential challenges could be overcome by introducing online tests if they are sufficiently sensitive to capture visual deficits accurately. The present study aimed to test (i) whether monocular vision was associated with increased response time and (ii) the feasibility of using simple, online tasks to probe the relationship between visual and motor function. Using a computer mouse or touchpad to move to targets as quickly as possible, 65 participants (aged 18–77) completed (i) a visual search task (moving to a 34 target embedded amongst a grid of distractors) and (ii) a basic visual-motor aiming task (moving to individual targets of varying size/distance). Participants completed both tasks online, either with full vision or monocular vision. Visual search time and aiming task response time increased significantly under monocular vision (≈1.8 s and ≈40 ms, respectively). These results suggest that a simple, online aiming task can be suitable for testing the effects of a visual deficit on motor function.</p> William Sheppard Richard Wilkie Rigmor Baraas Carlo Campagnoli Rachel Coats Copyright (c) 2025 William E. A. Sheppard, Richard M. Wilkie, Rigmor C. Baraas, Carlo Campagnoli, Rachel O. Coats https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2025-04-23 2025-04-23 18 1 1–9 1–9 10.15626/sjovs.v18i1.4329