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Researchers established normative data for the OculoMotor Assessment Tool (OMAT) for horizontal and vertical saccades and vergence jumps and found significant differences in these values between children and adults, according to research published in Clinical Optometry.
Researchers enrolled 52 participants (mean age 17.5±7.2 years, 60% children, 54% men and boys) in the analysis. They measured visual acuity (VA), stereopsis, amplitude of accommodation, near point of convergence (NPC), horizontal/vertical saccades, accommodation, and vergence jumps.
The team noted significantly lower values for horizontal and vertical saccades values in children compared with adults (111.5±20.2 and 112.5±22.7 vs 131.6±23.9 and 126.2±24.2 saccades per minute, respectively, P =.002 and P =.004, respectively). They found that the average of the last 30 seconds of both horizontal and vertical saccades was decreased in children (52.5±10.6 and 52.1±11.3, respectively) compared with adults ((63.2±10.2 and 59.3±13.4, respectively). The investigators also determined normative values for horizontal and vertical saccades (119.6±23.9 and 118.1±24.1 saccades per minute, respectively). The NPC break was 2.3 cm and the recovery was 3.0 cm. The investigators found the vergence jumps assessment to be 79.3±21.19 movements per minute.
“Our study results suggest that the OMAT may be a suitable instrument for measuring the most frequently occurring vision disorders after concussion – binocular vision, accommodative amplitude, and saccadic eye movements,” according to the researchers. “While it certainly can be used by eye care professionals, it also may be of interest as a screening tool for physicians and therapists who manage patients with persistent concussive symptoms. Of course, the OMAT test procedure could also be used in clinical practice to assess accommodative amplitude, near point of convergence, vergence facility and saccadic eye movements in the non-concussed population.”
Study limitations include the use of convenience sampling.
Reference
Eichler R, Mivtachi G, Hershkovitz-Azoulay D, Scheiman M, Ben-Eli H. OculoMotor Assessment Tool: Children Compared with Adults. Clin Optom (Auckl). Published online May 27, 2022. doi:10.2147/OPTO.S364516.
