The impact of auditory and haptic feedback on computer task performance in patients with age-related macular degeneration and control subjects with no known ocular disease

PURPOSE: To determine the impact of auditory and haptic (tactile) feedback on computer task performance of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) compared to controls. METHODS: Thirty patients with AMD and 29 similarly aged controls with no known ocular disease completed timed computer icon "drag and drop" tasks under all four possible conditions of presence or absence of auditory and haptic feedback in a two-factor repeated measures design. Patient recruitment was stratified by best eye acuity: 20/20-20/50; 20/60-20/100; <20/100. Controls had best eye acuity≥20/30. Task completion time was quantified using final target highlight time (FTHT) and total trial time, measured in milliseconds. RESULTS: Mean ± standard deviation (SD) FTHT with neither feedback type in the three patient and control groups was, respectively: 1,110 ± 356, 1,682 ± 1,069, 1,763 ± 831, 924 ± 533. Auditory feedback improved performance [%FTHT decrease, p-value] in all groups, respectively: 18%, P = 0.018; 38%, P = 0.054; 57%, P = 0.001; 19%, P = 0.001. Haptic feedback improved performance in the worst acuity AMD group and controls: 46%, P = 0.009; 17%, P = 0.038. In the worst acuity AMD group, auditory and/or haptic feedback was associated with a 4-6 second mean (for each task) reduction in total trial time. CONCLUSION: Auditory and haptic feedback can substantially increase performance speed of computer "drag and drop" tasks for patients with AMD, particularly in those patients with the most compromised vision.