Vertical dynamic visual acuity is significantly lower than horizontal dynamic visual acuity

Abstract

Abstract Dynamic visual acuity (DVA) is crucial for the perception of moving objects. While traditional DVA assessment tools predominantly focus on horizontal movements, the evaluation of vertical DVA remains unstandardized. Consequently, the disparities between vertical and horizontal DVAs are yet to be thoroughly investigated. Therefore, we designed a system capable of conducting multidirectional DVA tests and eye movement measurements. During the experiments, the participants identified the gap direction of the Landolt-C ring moving either horizontally or vertically. The speed of movement decelerated from its maximum as a high-speed infrared camera captured the pupil movements of the left eye at 500 fps. We conducted tests on 15 healthy university students (aged $$22.7\pm 1.2$$ 22.7 ± 1.2 years) and measured vertical and horizontal DVAs five times each. DVA was deduced from the Landolt-C ring speed with accurate gap direction responses, and eye movement was assessed based on the total gaze movement distance. The results revealed superior DVA and eye movement in the horizontal direction compared with the vertical direction ( $$p < 0.001$$ p < 0.001 ). This highlights the anisotropic characteristics of DVA and eye movement. The proposed system has the potential for multidirectional dynamic vision evaluation and training in clinical scenarios.