Purpose: To report a novel technique for measuring ocular ductions and evaluate its performance in normal participants.
Methods: We developed a laser pointer technique (LPT), a novel technique for quantitative measurement of ocular ductions. The device consists of a screen and headset with a laser pointer. Participants rotate their head while wearing the headset maintaining fixation on an optotype in the center of the screen until the target becomes blurry. Twenty-eight healthy volunteers were enrolled. The ocular ductions were measured with the LPT and compared to those of the Goldmann perimeter technique (GPT).
Results: The mean horizontal and vertical duction ranges were 95.2° ± 10.1° and 84.1° ± 10.8° using the LPT, respectively, and 113.2° ± 14.1° and 105.8° ± 12.5° using the GPT, respectively; both were significantly greater in the GPT than LPT (both P < 0.05). The total time required for testing was shorter with the LPT compared to the GPT (56.1 ± 4.5 seconds and 92.3 ± 11.6 seconds, P = 0.003). Both the LPT and GPT measurements showed excellent intraobserver repeatability, and LPT showed better interobserver repeatability.
Conclusions: Considering its reproducibility, accuracy, and simplicity, the LPT is expected to be useful for evaluating patients with ocular motility disorders as a first-order evaluation in the absence of sophisticated examination devices.
Translational relevance: The laser pointer technique, the new method for measuring ocular ductions, could be useful for evaluating patients with ocular motility disorders in clinical practice.