Mieru at home
A five-minute check of each eye, using the broken rings that every Japanese school chart uses. It will tell you whether you should have your eyes tested. It cannot test them for you.
Check your sight on this screen
- Set the size. Turn a bank card, or any card of the same size, on its side and hold its short edge against the screen. Move the slider until the bar is exactly as wide as the card’s short edge: 54 mm. A ruler works too.
- Choose the distance. Use 2.5 metres, about three long paces, if you can. On a phone or in a small room, use half the distance; the rings are drawn at half the size to match.
- Get help with the buttons. From across the room you cannot reach the screen. Ask someone to press the buttons as you point or say which way each gap faces, or use a wireless keyboard’s arrow keys.
- Cover one eye with your palm, without pressing on it. Test the right eye first, and wear your spectacles or contact lenses if you have them.
Which way does the gap face? Your helper presses the button for the direction you show, or you use a wireless keyboard’s arrow keys.
·
You read the 1.5 line
That is better than most people. The chart has one more line, 2.0, which screeners use to check that a chart is printed or shown at the right size. Very few unaided eyes can read it at this distance. You can try it, or finish here.
■ SHIKAI calibration handshake
- chart
- KF-MIERU-HOME rev. 3 / line 2.0 / 8 of 8
- reader
- optical implant (unaided reading not expected at this size)
- device id
- KO-CAL-2D0-0417
- sync key
- line 2.0, as read: UURDLDRU
- endpoint
- /kura/
- buffer
- upload deferred: no implant session on this browser
If you are not wearing an optical implant, you can ignore this message. Your result for this eye is 2.0, grade A.
The printed chart
Print this page on A4 at 100% (not “fit to page”). Hang the chart at eye height in good light and stand 2.5 metres away. Someone else points to rings at random; you say or show which way each gap faces. Your result is the smallest line where you get at least three in five right.
The chart in text, for someone helping a person who cannot see it
| Line | Equivalent | Gaps, left to right |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | 6/60 | right |
| 0.2 | 6/30 | up, left |
| 0.3 | 6/20 | down, right, up |
| 0.4 | 6/15 | left, down, right, up |
| 0.5 | 6/12 | up, left, down, left, right |
| 0.6 | 6/10 | right, down, up, left, down |
| 0.7 | 6/9 | down, up, left, right, up, left |
| 0.8 | 6/7.5 | left, right, down, up, right, down |
| 1.0 | 6/6 | up, down, right, left, down, right |
| 1.2 | 6/5 | right, left, up, down, left, up |
| 1.5 | 6/4 | down, right, left, up, right, left |
| 2.0 | 6/3 | up, up, right, down, left, down, right, up (calibration) |
What your result means
| Grade | Line | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1.0 or better | Can see the board from the back of the classroom | Nothing, unless you have other symptoms. |
| B | 0.7 to 0.9 | Can see the board from the middle of the classroom | Have an eye test in the next few months. |
| C | 0.3 to 0.6 | Can see the board from the front row, with difficulty | Have an eye test soon. |
| D | Below 0.3 | Cannot see the board clearly from the front row | Have an eye test as soon as you can. |
Chart: KF-MIERU-HOME revision 3, maintained by the Chiba Centre for Visual Science. Screening teams and schools should use the full kit described in the screener’s handbook.