With more than 200,000 US cases per year, cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world and according to YourSightMatters.com, 24 million Americans over the age of 40 are affected by them.

Examining retina function can be a daunting task in the presence of cataracts, but it is important to move forward with an electroretinogram (ERG) to test the retina and determine whether it is still functional. With a dysfunctional retina, there is no reason for patients to undergo cataract surgery, which in the long run will help save time and money for physicians and their patients. If other abnormalities in the retina are found during the ERG testing phase, other ocular diseases may be determined, such as diabetic retinopathy or retinal vein occlusions which will result in different treatments.

The RETeval^® device is a practical method to assess the retinal function in eyes with cataracts because it can be performed rapidly, about 1 min/eye, without mydriasis and topical anesthetics.

In a study done in 2015, Effects of cataracts on flicker electroretinograms recorded with RETeval system: new mydriasis-free ERG device, the RETeval device examined 82 eyes of 60 patients with 43 having Grade 2* cataracts and 17 having Grade 3* cataracts. During this study, 52 eyes were also examined of 38 patients who underwent cataract surgery previously, to see the comparison of all three groups during the flicker ERG.

This study indicates that the presence of Grade 2 or more cataracts affects both the amplitude and the implicit time of the flicker ERGs therefore affecting recordings from the RETeval device. The presence of cataracts should be taken into consideration when interpreting flicker ERG recordings.