• William A Douthwaite, Marta Vianya-Estopà, and David B Elliott.
• Department of Optometry, University of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD7 1DP, UK. w.a.douthwaite@bradford.ac.uk
• Br J Ophthalmol. 2007 May 1;91(5):638-43.

AimTo assess the ability of critical flicker frequency (CFF) and optimal reading speed (ORS) to predict the potential vision in patients with cataract with and without ocular comorbidity.MethodsThe two novel tests were compared with two well established potential vision tests (PVTs), the potential acuity meter (PAM) and the laser interferometer (LI). Measurements were made preoperatively in 1 eye of 88 subjects using the battery of 4 PVTs. Postoperative measurements were made with the CFF and the ORS. The subjects studied were consecutive cases over a 12-month period who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and agreed to participate in this study.ResultsCFF was the PVT most resistant to the presence of cataract. Both CFF and ORS give a similar predictive precision in the presence of cataract and ocular comorbidity, although CFF seems more precise when the cataract is dense.ConclusionsThe PAM and the LI showed a limited clinical capability in predicting postoperative visual acuity, particularly with dense opacities. The CFF shows the most promise as a PVT, particularly with dense cataract. Further evaluation is required for both CFF and ORS.

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