A colourflicker analysis of visual function in patients with retinal detachment

Manfred Fahle, Tom Troscianko and Ingrid Kreissig


Abstract

Patients with a history of retinal detachment were examined by the following tests: (I) setting of an isoluminant match between yellow and green constituent squares of a checkerboard and (2) measurement of the flicker fusion frequency for a contrastreversal of this yellowgreen pattern. The results suggest that the test may provide useful data for assessing the severity of any damage to a given part of the retina. The fusion frequencies range from over 10 Hz (normal) to about 2 Hz for a severely impaired retina. The data for the relative amounts of red and green light needed to achieve a match rarely show any abnormality; thus, a standard anomaloscope test or pseudoisochromatic plates would not detect these deficiencies.