How useful are contrast sensitivity charts in optometric practice? Case reports.

There are now a number of commercially available contrast sensitivity (CS) charts for clinical use. Although a great deal has been written about CS, there is little information regarding its usefulness in optometric practice. In this study 3 commercially available charts (the Vistech system, Pelli-Robson, and Cambridge charts) were used by 6 optometrists in clinical practice over a 14-month period. This report includes a review of the research literature on clinical CS testing, and contains case records from the in-practice study which indicate situations in which the measurement of CS proved useful.