Macular pigment assessment using a colour monitor

Two experiments were performed to determine the effectiveness of the blue and green phosphor emissions of a colour monitor as stimuli for macular pigment (MP) assessment by flicker photometry. (1) A subject with very little MP made foveal and extrafoveal (5°) minimum flicker matches through calibrated carotenoid solutions simulating MP in the 0.0-0.5 peak absorbance range. (2) Six subjects with different MP complements (foveal 0.16-0.75 peak absorbance range) determined their MP retinal profiles in the 0-7° eccentricity range by flicker photometry on the monitor and, for comparison, by motion photometry using narrowband stimuli on the Moreland anomaloscope. Pigment absorbances deduced from changes in the blue/green phosphor luminance ratio are smaller (≈50%) than comparison values obtained either for the calibrated solutions or by motion photometry. A model that incorporates the full spectral emissions of the monitor phosphors accounts for these results and, thus, provides a means of calibration. The model also reveals a small effect of the aging lens. Within these constraints, flicker photometry with the blue and green phosphors of a monitor can be used to assess MP in different individuals. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.