The pandemic has spurred a large increase in the use of tablets and other electronic devices, but have you thought about what that may mean for older eyes? A recent study of glaucoma patients shows that tweaking computer monitor settings improved visual comfort, and suggests the approach could help all older adults.

The study started as a way to help patients boost their computer use by understanding how glaucoma affected their vision and how to compensate, at least in part, for that vision loss by modulating the contrast, color, and luminance of images on the screen.

To determine which screen alterations would be most helpful, researchers compared responses of 16 glaucoma patients (mean age, 63) with those of 17 age-matched controls without glaucoma and 16 young controls (mean age, 23). They found that while young people mostly preferred the original computer settings, glaucoma patients and age-matched controls preferred settings that enhanced contrast through various screen adjustments.

Because there were no significant preference differences between glaucoma patients and age-matched controls, the authors suggest that tweaking monitors could benefit not only those with visual impairments, but older people in general.

Other tools that could boost vision comfort not covered in the study include anti-glare screens/monitor covers, anti-glare glasses and artificial tears to reduce dry eye.

Read the study here,

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S258941962100034X?via%3Dihub