SPATIAL CONTRAST SENSITIVITY AT VISUAL LOAD CAUSED BY MOBILE DIGITAL DEVICES. PART 1. CONTRAST SENSITIVITY INDICATORS

Abstract

Visual contrastometry (VCM), as a method for determining spatial contrast sensitivity (SCS), has found quite wide application. VCM is being effectively used to assess visual performance and serves as one of the criteria for adaptation to visual load and fatigue.
Purpose. To study the SCS in a familiar visual environment and under visual load caused by the use of personal mobile screen devices.
Material and methods. The article presents the results of a study of spatial contrast sensitivity (SCS) in healthy students (n=34, of which 16 women, 18 men, average age 22.4±0.9 years old) in the usual visual environment and under the influence of visual load from devices. The experiments were carried out using the authors’ program “Visual contrastometry” under standard laboratory conditions; the SCS assessment was carried out in the initial state at the 15th, 30th and 45th minutes of the study.
Results. Throughout the experiment, a continuous decrease in the thresholds of spatial contrast sensitivity was revealed when exposed to mobile screen devices. When comparing data on visual contrast measurements between control and experimental conditions, no significant changes were identified at any time point. The distribution of SCS in all phases of the experiment corresponded to the results of studies by other authors and had the character of a normal physiological curve.