Cardiff Near Test

Like other Cardiff acuity tests developed for testing visual acuity in young children, the Cardiff Near Test uses vanishing optotypes. This particular test is presented to the patient as a naming or matching game, and provides an accurate and reliable method for testing visual acuity in children ages three years and older.

Features and Benefits of the Cardiff Near Test

• Cards for accurately testing visual acuity
• Suitable for testing children ages three and up
• Can detect relatively small deficits in focus
• Pack of nine cards with vanishing optotypes
• Contains three cards at each acuity testing level

About the Cardiff Near Test

The Cardiff Near Test makes use of vanishing optotypes – images with black and white outlines that are printed on a neutral grey background. The luminance of the target image is equal to that of the background, and as a result, if the image lies beyond the child’s visual acuity limit it merges with the grey background, and becomes invisible to them. The benefit of this type of test is that it is considerably more sensitive to blur than a conventional eye test, enabling the examiner to pick up relatively small deficits in focus.

Each of the nine cards in the testing pack – three cards at each testing level – consists of a number of vanishing optotypes in a calibrated LogMAR sequence. While similar to other Cardiff Acuity Tests, the Near Test does not use the Preferential Looking technique to assess the patient’s vision. Instead, the child needs to name or match the optotypes, and this test is therefore suitable for children ages three years and older.