WARNING ON INACCURATE ROSENBAUM CARDS FOR TESTING NEAR VISION

The Rosenbaum card is the most widely used handheld card for measuring near visual acuity. It was developed by Dr. J. George Rosenbaum of Cl eveland, Ohio, for testing vision at tile bedside of patients after-ca taract surgery, Millions of copies of the Rosenbaum card have been dis tributed free by drug companies or sold by medical supply firms. Most versions of the Rosenbaum card are inaccurate because the numbers are not scaled properly to the Snellen system. This article reviews the hi story of the Rosenbaum card, briefly summarizes issues raised by near vision testing, and provides standards for the manufacture of Rosenbau m near cards. (C) 1997 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.