Quantification and monitoring of visual disturbances for patients with cataracts using Halo v1.0 software

We objectively measured optical quality and quantified such nightvision disturbances as glare, starbursts, and halos perceived by patients diagnosed with cataracts. For this purpose, retinal-image quality was measured with a double-pass device (OQAS, Visiometrics SL). Visual-discrimination capacity was quantified by the disturbance index under low illumination (Halo v1.0 software, Laboratory of Vision Sciences and Applications). We took data for 15 normal subjects and 15 subjects affected by cataracts. Cataract patients had worse optical quality, and also showed a more extended double-pass image due to a higher contribution of ocular scattering and aberrations. Furthermore, results from the Halo test reflected a higher disturbance index for pathological subjects and, consequently, a deterioration in visual performance. Halo v1.0 software could be useful in daily clinical practice for characterizing the time course of visual disturbances shown by subjects with increased lens opacity, after ocular surgery or secondary to other ocular pathologies.