Retinoscopy

Retinoscopy is a manual, objective method of evaluating the refractive status of an individual’s eye. Accurate, objective refraction can significantly reduce the time taken for subjective refraction. It is an essential eye testing procedure for young children, people with disabilities, dementia, etc., and who may not be able to co-operate for autorefraction and may be unable to respond to subjective refraction. Retinoscopy is useful in many ways as, in addition to refraction, it also provides information about optical aberrations and media opacity. Retinoscopy is performed using a retinoscope, which emits a line or “streak” of light into a patient’s eye; the reflection of this light is used to gauge refraction objectively. Spot retinoscopy, which employs a circle of light, is less commonly used. This chapter describes the fundamental techniques of streak retinoscopy.