The Objective Methods to Evaluate Ocular Fatigue Associated With Computer Work

Young-Woo Suh; Kyun-Hyung Kim; Su-Yeon Kang; Seoung Woo Kim; Jae Ryung Oh; Hyo-Myung Kim; Jong-Suk Song

doi:10.3341/jkos.2010.51.10.1327

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Suh, Kim, Kang, Kim, Oh, Kim, and Song: The Objective Methods to Evaluate Ocular Fatigue Associated With Computer Work

Original Article

J Korean Ophthalmol Soc 2010;51(10):1327-1332.

Published online: 7 September 2010

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3341/jkos.2010.51.10.1327

The Objective Methods to Evaluate Ocular Fatigue Associated With Computer Work

Young-Woo Suh, MD, PhD^1,², Kyun-Hyung Kim, MD^1,³, Su-Yeon Kang, MD^1,², Seoung Woo Kim, MD, PhD^1,², Jae Ryung Oh, MD, PhD^1,², Hyo-Myung Kim, MD, PhD^1,², Jong-Suk Song, MD, PhD^1,²

¹The Association for Research in Visual Function, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

²Department of Ophthalmology, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

³Department of Ophthalmology, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Korea

Address reprint requests to Jong-Suk Song, MD, PhD Department of Ophthalmology, Korea University Guro Hospital #80 Guro 2-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul 152-703, Korea Tel: 82-2-2626-1260, Fax: 82-2-857-8580 E-mail: crisim@korea.ac.kr

Received 7 May 2010 Accepted 15 July 2010

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

To develop methods for the objective measurement of ocular fatigue.

Methods

Fifteen patients were enrolled in the present study. Subjects performed visual tasks on a computer for one hour. A survey of ocular fatigue was conducted with a questionnaire. Tear breakup time, blinking rate, ocular protection index, conjunctival injection, maximal blinking interval, temperature of the ocular surface, and visual evoked potential were evaluated before and immediately after the task. Surface electromyography of the orbicularis oculi muscle was performed before and during the task.

Results

The survey showed increases in subjective ocular fatigue in all subjects. Tear breakup time, ocular protection index and maximal blinking interval decreased, while temperature of the ocular surface increased after the task. Conjunctival injection showed a tendency to increase. Electromyography, and visual evoked potential did not change significantly. Conclusions: In the present study, tear breakup time, ocular protection index, maximal blinking interval, and temperature of the ocular surface changed as ocular fatigue increased. Therefore, these measures can be objectively used for the evaluation of ocular fatigue.

Conclusions

In the present study, tear breakup time, ocular protection index, maximal blinking interval, and temperature of the ocular surface changed as ocular fatigue increased. Therefore, these measures can be objectively used for the evaluation of ocular fatigue.

Keywords: Asthenopia, Dry eye, Ocular fatigue

References

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Figure 1.

The non-contact thermometer.

Figure 2.

(A) The surface electromyography (EMG) of orbucularis oculi muscle. (B) The wave pattern of EMG while a subject blinks. (C) The wave pattern of EMG while a subject squints.

Table 1.

Questionnaire for evaluating ocular fatigue

	None	Mild		Moderate		Severe
	0	1	2	3	4	5	6
Tired eyes
Sore/aching eyes
Irritated eyes
Watery eyes
Dry eyes
Eyestrain
Hot/burning eyes
Blurred vision
Difficulty focusing
Vision discomfort

Table 2.

The results of evaluation for ocular fatigue before and after the visual task

		Pre	Post	p
Tear breakup time (sec)		7.47 ± 3.15	5.54 ± 2.89	0.001
Maximal blinking interval (sec)		23.12 ± 15.52	17.09 ± 14.39	0.011
Ocular surface temperature (˚ C)		34.16 ± 0.49	34.44 ± 0.40	0.041
Conjunctival hyperemia	Nasal	20.00 ± 7.56	22.00 ± 7.75	0.083
Conjunctival hyperemia	Temporal	22.67 ± 7.99	22.00 ± 7.75	0.157
Fusional convergence^*	Break point	20.06 ± 11.45	19.27 ± 10.34	0.388
Fusional convergence^*	Recovery point	11.60 ± 6.10	11.40 ± 4.68	0.615
Fusional divergence^*	Break point	9.60 ± 4.37	9.73 ± 4.90	0.752
Fusional divergence^*	Recovery point	7.56 ± 3.07	7.87 ± 4.44	0.722
VEP)	Latency (sec)	99.9 ± 9.36	98.53 ± 10.44	0.31
VEP)	Latency (sec) VEP Amplitude (µV)	4.42 ± 3.36	4.11 ± 2.73	0.463
Amplitude of surface EMG (µV/sec)		11.02 ± 2.50	11.23 ± 5.53	0.441

^* Prism diopters.

Table 3.

Blinking rate and ocular protection index before and during the visual task

	Resting	Initial 5 minute	Last 5 minute	p
Blinking rate (/ min)	17.7 ± 4.61	10.0 ± 4.86	8.9 ± 4.62	0.00
Ocular protection index	2.16 ± 1.02	1.26 ± 0.79	0.84 ± 0.58	0.00

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