Development and validation of the Greek version of the MNREAD acuity chart

Abstract

Background:The aim of this study was to develop MNREAD acuity charts in the Greek language (MNREAD-GR) and establish their repeatability in a normal-sighted population. Methods: One hundred and eighty Greek sentences were constructed based on the design principles of the Minnesota Low Vision Reading Test. The software used to validate them for width was adjusted to the parameters of the non-Latin characters used in the Greek language (MNTest-GR) and width-validated sentences were then checked for literacy by two language teachers. Pilot testing followed in 20 adults and two groups of 20 children. Subsequently, three versions of the MNREAD-GR chart were printed and validated for repeatability: 20 adults read MNREAD-GR charts 1, 2 and 3 in random order over two sessions. A linear mixed-model analysis was performed for near visual acuity (VA), maximum reading speed and critical print size to identify the contribution of each source (individual subject, session, chart and residual error) to the total variance. Subject variance determined the intraclass correlation coefficient. Results: One hundred of the initial 180 sentences were validated with MNTest-GR and approved for literacy correctness. Of those, 57 sentences were selected after pilot testing, and used in the final printed chart in random distribution among three versions. The intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.72 for VA, 0.87 for maximum reading speed and 0.46 for critical print size. The between-charts within-session within-subject component accounted for a maximum five per cent of the variance. The betweensessions within-subject component had a maximum of one per cent. The coefficient of repeatability was 0.08 logMAR for VA, 46.96 words per minute for maximum reading speed and 0.10 logMAR for critical print size. Conclusion:The created MNREAD-GR acuity chart is a standardised clinical test that can be used reliably to measure near acuity, reading speed and critical print size in Greek-speaking literate patients of all ages.

Toward developing a standardized Arabic continuous text reading chart

“…This choice had additional advantages. Firstly, it is frequently used in reading charts of other languages 6, 19, 24, 26, 28. Secondly, Arabic Times New Roman font in Microsoft Word © does not use ligatures, which are specific Arabic font characteristics.…”

“…These measures indicate the potential for reading small print fluently, and are used to estimate the required magnification for reading in patients with low vision. The use of standardized sentences and layout is important, so that the print size is the only parameter that affects the threshold, and not variability in the text difficulty or crowding effects, so as to ensure reliable and repeated results 17, 18, 19, 20…”

“…Radner et al 22 developed the concept further, creating sentences which were equal in terms of lexical and syntactical difficulty, word length and positioning of words within the sentence. Continuous text reading charts are now available in many languages 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28. Arabic is ranked as the fifth spoken language (in number of first language speakers) and is spoken in 60 different countries globally, with approximately 237 million native speakers 29 .…”

The evaluation of reading performance with minnesota low vision reading charts in patients with age-related macular degeneration

“…[2] MNREAD charts are originally in English but have been validated in several languages. [789] Developing versions in different languages does not mean translating. Reading charts should be prepared specifically for that language and validity and reliability of these charts should also be tested.…”

Repeatability of the Universiti Teknologi MARA reading charts

“…The repeatability of clinical measurement is importance to be assessed in order to produce a good reliability and consistent outcomes. Any new reading chart will be tested its test-retest reliability as in previous studies [14][15][16][17][18] . In this study, the UiTMMrw reading chart and UiTM-Muw reading chart were investigated for reliable repeatable outcomes in clinical use by analyzing the test-retest of reading rate in Malay language.…”