CONSIDERATIONS IN THE SUBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT OF CATARACT

The subjective classification of lens opacities is a fundamental compo nent in both the clinical evaluation of the individual patient and in large-scale clinical trials. This procedure has been improved substant ially by the implementation of standardized photographic systems depic ting various levels of nuclear opacity and color, cortical, and poster ior-subcapsular cataract. Comparison can also be made with recently de veloped objective measurements of opacity and color. Further improveme nts in reliability and sensitivity to change can be achieved by modify ing traditional integer scaling systems by interpolating between photo graphic standards.