We will develop a portable computer-based test of functional visual acuity that can be applied to conditions involving whole-body perturbation that are common in aerospace operations and in the activities of daily living. Our visual-acuity test is innovative in that (a) it can be applied while the observer is walking, in a vehicle cockpit, or in standardized optometric conditions, (b) it is commensurate with international standards for optometric procedures and diagnostic information, and (c) it allows for differentiation between ophthalmic and neuromuscular causes of impaired acuity. These unique characteristics of our innovative test are relevant to Topic 10.03, On-Board Human Health Maintenance and Countermeasures, because they can enhance "understanding of the effects of microgravity and other components of the space environment on the physiological systems of the body" by allowing for standardizable quantification of visual acuity and coordination of the associated neuromuscular systems through "novel software methods for documentation, storage, retrieval, analysis and diagnosis of crew health." Moreover, by enhancing diagnostic differentiation and generality, our innovative test can support the development of "countermeasures against deleterious changes in body systems in flight or upon return to the ground [including]... post-flight reduction in neuromuscular coordination."
