The Effect of Cataract on Eye Movement Perimetry

Purpose. To determine how different grades of cataract affect sensitivity threshold and saccadic reaction time (SRT) in eye movement perimetry (EMP). Methods. In EMP, the visual field is tested by assessing the saccades that a subject makes towards peripheral stimuli using an eye tracker. Forty-eight cataract patients underwent pre- and postoperative EMP examination in both eyes. The subjects had to fix a central stimulus presented on the eye tracker monitor and to look at any detected peripheral stimulus upon its appearance. A multilevel mixed model was used to determine the factors that affected the sensitivity threshold and the SRT as a function of cataract grade. Results. We found no effect of cataract severity (LOCS III grades I through IV) on SRT and the sensitivity thresholds. In cataract of LOCS III grade V, however, we found an increase by 27% and 21% (p