Preliminary evaluation of the VIsion PERformance (VIPER) simulator

Background This study evaluated the VIsion PERformance (VIPER) simulator’s ability to assess the functional visual performance in warfighters conducting civilian and military tasks. Methods Thirty service members, aged 25–35 years old with a best corrected distance visual acuity (VA) better than or equal to 20/20 or logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) 0.00, were randomized to locate and identify road signs and mock improvised explosive devices (IEDs) under either daytime conditions or with infrared imagery, with (cc) and without (sc) wearing their habitual correction. Participants also underwent binocular uncorrected (UDVA) and corrected (CDVA) visual assessment, refraction, contrast sensitivity testing and wavefront aberrometry. Results The mean age was 28.47 years. The manifest spherical equivalent was − 3.16 ± 1.75 diopters (D), the UDVA in both eyes (OU) was logMAR 0.83 ± 0.47, and the CDVA OU was − 0.11 ± 0.06. For VIPER, the mean difference in the detection distance (DD) for road signs ccDD vs. scDD was 76.7 ± 52.8 m ( P < 0.001). The average difference in identification distance (ID) ccID vs. scID was 13.9 ± 6.3 m ( P < 0.001). The mean accuracies were 83.5 and 27.9% for cc and sc, respectively ( P < 0.001). The regression analysis indicated that a 1.6 m change in the distance accounts for a 1% change in the accuracy ( P = 0.002). Without correction, a 4.1 m change accounts for a 1% change in the accuracy ( P < 0.001). The average IED ccDD was 29.9 ± 8.2 m, and that for scDD was 13.2 ± 13.6 m ( P < 0.001). The average IED ccID was 32.2 ± 6.2 m and that for the scID was 7.4 ± 10.3 m ( P < 0.001). The mean IED identification accuracy was 46.7 and 11.4% for cc and sc, respectively ( P < 0.001). Conclusions The preliminary results reflect VIPER’s ability to assess functional visual performance when detecting and identifying signs and IEDs. Furthermore, VIPER is able to detect performance changes with and without correction.