Reliability of Refractive Measurement by Hand-held Autorefractor

Purpose: We tried to evaluate the reliablility of refractive measurement by hand-held autorefractor (HHAR). Methods: Ninety patients (180 eyes) with simple refractive error were divided into three groups (30 patients each) according to their ages. Group I is under 6 years old; group 11, from 7 to 15 years old; and group 3, over 16 years old. Under cycloplegics, three measuring methods of refraction using table top autorefractor (Model 599, Zeiss Humphrey, USA), hand-held autorefractor (Retinomax K-plus, Nikon, Japan) and skiascope (Heine beta 200, Germany) were performed and we compared each spherical and cylindrical value in 3 groups. Results: There was no significant difference in both spherical and cylindrical value between HH-AR and skiascope in all groups (=0.579, =0.708, =0,80l, =0.730, =0.816, =0.754), But there was significant difference in both spherical and cylindrical value between table top autorefractor and skiascope in group I (=0.019, =0.030, =0.405, =0.392, =0.876, =0.747). Conclusions: We believe that hand-held autorefractor can be a useful instrument to measure refractive power without serious error, especially in patients who have difficulty with table top autorefractor.