Lighting Evaluation May Improve Patient’s Reading Comfort, Speed in Low Vision

Patients with low vision may benefit from an evaluation that considers brightness and the use of colored filters to improve comfort and speed while reading, according to a poster presented at the 2023 Southeastern Educational Congress of Optometry (SECO) meeting in Atlanta from March 1 to 5. Many patients prefer a light yellow filter and varied white light settings for brightness and color temperature, the poster shows. 

Samantha McIntosh, Ava K. Bittner, and Megan Yu of the Nova Southeastern University and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) optometry schools included 71 participants, who underwent in-office low vision rehabilitation, in a multicenter trial to assess the effect of light and color temperature on near vision reading. The team evaluated distance and near vision and contrast sensitivity and determined color filter and white light preferences among the cohort.  

Study participants expressed a wide range of white light brightness (mean illuminance [lux], 3237; range 750-5500) and color temperature preferences (mean, 4743°K; range 2750-6500) for near tasks, and most chose a light-yellow filter (52%) for enhancing their reading experience. A total of 35% of participants chose colors resembling a FL-41 tint (peach, pink, or orange), and all patients expressed a preference for a  gooseneck desk lamp with white light settings for brightness and color temperature compared with color tinted eyeglass lenses.