A Portable Solid State Dark Adaptometer

Many technological advances produced the field-portable dark adaptometer. The LED light source provides an inexpensive, rugged and entirely portable alternative to conventional illumination sources. Microcomputer technology facilitated dark adaptometry data acquisition and analysis. Further refinements in the microcomputer industry have produced smaller, truly portable, and relatively inexpensive computers with the IEEE-488 communications interface standard. The IEEE-488 interface, in turn, is a powerful tool for streamlining the clinical dark adaptometer. Its power and utility come from its inherent ability to maintain communications among many devices concurrently and from the wide availability of IEEE-488 support products. These technologies are integrated in this dark adaptometer to produce a unit that is a compact and rugged alternative to laboratory and clinical visual function test equipment, and brings new sophistication to visual function diagnosis in field work. (Author)