tft lcd eye strain factory

The 19 inch TFT LCD security monitor is designed for security cameras and DVR surveillance systems. BNC, VGA, RCA, and HDMI video inputs are provided on the monitor to support all devices. A maximum resolution of 1280x1024 ensures you"re getting the best quality connection out of your display. The 19 inch size provides a large area of display so you can comfortably monitor all screens without eye strain.

Pulse Width Modulation is something you will hear talked about quite a lot nowadays. We have a full detailed article about PWM which is worth reading through. In simple terms, PWM is a method used for dimming a monitors backlight whereby the backlight is turned off and on rapidly to simulate lower brightness levels. As you decrease the brightness setting of the screen the “off” periods are increased in length progressively and this in turn leads to a lower luminance output for the display (darker image). The problem with PWM is that on modern LED backlights the rapid turning of the backlight off and on can lead to flickering. Sometimes when the frequency of the PWM is low this might even be visible to some users. In other cases, while it might not be visible the user may still experience unwanted side-effects of its use including eye-strain, headaches, eye fatigue and even nausea.

To overcome this, many manufacturers now actively promote their use of flicker-free backlights and have done away with PWM completely. If you are sensitive to the use of PWM or are just worried about your eye health, we would certainly recommend trying to avoid displays where PWM is used.

While TFT screens are best run at their native resolutions, it is possible to run them at lower resolutions if need be. In doing so the screen must interpolate the image from below the native resolution, leading commonly to some loss in image clarity and sharpness as the image is stretched across pixels. In office use this can be a problem and can look quite poor, but in gaming, it is generally not so much of a problem. The ability of a TFT to interpolate the image depends on the particular panel and scaler used, and some manufacturers have been able to improve the ability of their panels to run outside the native resolution. Generally though it is not recommended to run outside the native resolution on a TFT if you can help it. Where resolutions are very high (e.g. Ultra HD / 4K) then you will still want to run the display at the full native resolution, but enabled operating system scaling to make everything easier to see.

On modern IPS panels when viewing a black image there is typically a characteristic white glow when viewed from an angle, commonly referred to as “IPS-glow”. This is common on most modern IPS-type panels and can be distracting to some users. The level of glow shown here is pretty typical of a modern IPS-type panel. If you view dark content from a normal head-on viewing position, you can actually see this glow slightly as your eyes look towards the edges of the screen if it is of a large size. The wider the screen and the bigger it is, the more likely you are to see some glow from your normal viewing position as you glance towards the edges. A curve to the screen can help reduce this a little as the angle between your eyes and the edges is reduced a little. Some people may find this IPS-glow problematic if they are working with a lot of dark content or solid colour patterns. In normal day to day uses, office work, movies and games you probably wouldn’t really notice this unless you were viewing darker content. If you move your viewing position back, which is probably likely for movies and games, the effect reduces as you do not have such an angle from your eye position to the screen edges.

The Screen Door effect is so called because sometimes it is possible to clearly see the individual pixels in a panel and the gaps between them. This is quite rare, but can be distracting if you are using a TFT up close. It may be more apparent where pixel pitch is large (e.g. a large screen with a relatively low native resolution / number of pixels in the matrix).

Input lag is described as the lag between the output from a graphics card and the image which is displayed on the screen you are using. For LCD screens this should not be confused with pixel response time which describes the speed at which a pixel can change from one orientation to another. Pixel response times impact aspects such as motion blur and ghosting in moving images. On the other hand input lag is a delay between what is sent to the monitor, and what you actually see. This can have impacts particularly in gaming where if the screen is lagging at all, it can have adverse affects on first person shooter games and the likes where every millisecond counts. Lag is more about the ‘feel’ of delay.

The level of lag really depends on the TFT display, and is controlled by many signal processing factors including, but not limited to the internal electronics and scaling chips. Some manufacturers even take measures to help reduce this, providing modes which bypass scaler chips and options which reduce the input lag. These are often reserved for gamer-orientated screens but the results can be quite noticeable in some cases. Where NVIDIA G-sync modules are used you will tend to see very low levels of lag as well, as the screen does not have a scaler present.

Cleartype was introduced by Microsoft for use with LCD displays to make fonts more rounded and less jagged. This is effectively a filter used to blur the fonts a little which some people prefer the look of. This can vary from one TFT to another, and it is easy enough to turn on and off to allow you to decide which you prefer. Microsoft’s article about the Cleartype filter can be found here:

Image burn in was traditionally a problem with CRT displays, where prolonged images on the screen could leave a ghost image behind after it has changed. This was a problem with older CRT displays and was the reason for the introduction of screen savers. With TFT’s this is not really a major problem as the image cannot be burnt into the screen by the cathode ray gun, as the pixels all operate individually. Some screens can very occasionally show some lasting imprint of an image if the same picture is left on the screen for long periods of time, but it is generally not permanent. This can often be easily solved by looking at some fast moving scenes or gaming. For the sake of electricity more than anything else though, it is probably easiest to use the power settings on your PC to turn the screen off when not in use.

One of the main concerns people have when buying a TFT relates to the problem of dead pixels. Pixels can sometimes be ‘dead’ (stuck on black or white). Sometimes the sub pixels which make up the pixel can be dead which leaves the pixel looking red, green or blue. Sometimes the sub pixels can be ‘lazy’ and with a bit of luck can come back to life.

Dead pixels / sub pixels defects are normally caused during the manufacturing stage, and it is very rare for a panel to generate a pixel fault at a later stage unless you have a tendency to prod the screen. Nowadays, manufacturing levels are very good and it is quite rare for a pixel to be ‘dead’, and you will see some manufacturers like Samsung and ViewSonic for instance, offering zero dead pixel policies. Dead sub pixels are still a problem, and the policy will not cover these in most cases. Dead pixels are not really considered a fault with a TFT monitor and you will need to consider this before purchasing. Refer to the manufacturer to find out what their dead pixel policy is.

The OSD refers to the “On Screen Display” available on nearly all TFT monitors. This allows the user to change settings ranging from brightness, contrast and colour levels (typically RGB) to more advanced features like aspect ratio and monitor preset modes instance. One thing to note is that some features like contrast, phase and pixel clock are only available when using the VGA (analogue) interface and become greyed out when using the DVI (digital interface) as they are no longer required. Proper configuration of a monitor requires RGB levels to be altered and brightness and contrast to be set correctly. More advanced features are often accessible and modern OSD often offer a wealth of selections. Some OSD also offer factory menus and information about the screen or panel being used which can be particularly useful for the enthusiast.

It is possible to detach the stand from some TFT models and instead mount them to a swinging arm on a wall or desk. If this is something you might wish to do, look for TFT’s which specify compatibility with VESA mounts. These can provide improved alignment of a monitor and easier use depending on your needs.

Using a laptop is not without its problems as there can be side effects such as eye strain. Due to this side effect, there have been several questions as to which laptop screen can reduce eye strain.

To be frank, there is no specific laptop screen which can reduce eye strain.Instead, what you can look out for in the process of purchasing a system is the components of the laptop screen.

Purchasing a laptop without doing proper research on the screen properties can lead to constant eye strain. However, this does not mean you cannot find a way around it. With the following tips, you can reduce the level of discomfort on your eyes during the use of your PC.

The way your body is positioned during the use of a laptop can lead to eye strain. According to an articleby the American Occupational Safety and Health Association, the placement of the laptop and the posture of the body can affect the eyes.

Instead of slouching your body or craning your neck use the laptop, using a table or stack of books to raise the screen to the eye reduces the strain. On the other hand, if you have a chair that is lower than the desk, change it for another one that you can increase its height.

Tweaking the settings of your PC is another way to guard against eye strain. Sometimes, the brightness or contrast level of your system can be set too high or too low. Changing them to the optimum setting should help if not totally alleviate the problem.

Glare from the laptop screen can irritate the eyes and also affect your mood. If the light is cast directly at the eyes, it will cause eye strain. Therefore, to prevent it, either purchase a laptop with pre-installed anti-glare or place anti-reflective protectors over the screen.

The constant flicker of the lights can lead to eye strain. The duration of this flicker is called the refresh rate. A laptop with a high refresh rate is able to diminish the flickers.

In laptops, the most common panel to find is LCD. LCD is an acronym for liquid crystal display. More often than not, you will see an LCD panel with LED (light-emitting diode) which is a different method of backlighting a PC.

3IPS PanelsBetter viewing angles than all LCDsCrystal alignment always lines up the viewer’s eye level thereby reducing eye strainLess brightRefresh rate is slower than TN panelsResponse time is slower than TN panels

Yes, the screen resolution of a laptop can affect the eyes. This is mostly common when the display screen of the laptop is quite small thereby affecting the alignment of the display with the eye level. Therefore, when possible always opt for a laptop with a larger resolution.

Staring at your laptop screen for long intervals can lead to eye strain. This side effect is easily avoidable if you put in place preventive measures such as the use of anti-glare goggles and screen protectors.

The TFT-LCD (thin film transistor liquid crystal display) industry is rapidly growing in Taiwan and many other countries. A large number of workers, mainly women, are employed in the light-on test process to detect the defects of products. At the light-on test workstation, the operator is generally exposed to low humidity (in the clean room environment), flashing light, and low ambient illumination for long working hours. Many workers complained about eye discomfort, and therefore we conducted a study to evaluate the tear secretion function of light-on test workers of a TFT-LCD company.

We recruited workers engaged in light-on tests in the company during their periodical health examination. In addition to a questionnaire survey of demographic characteristics and ophthalmic symptoms, we evaluated the tear secretion function of both eyes of each participant using the Schirmer"s lacrimal basal secretion test with anaesthesia. A participant with one or both eyes yielding abnormal test results was defined as a case of tear secretion dysfunction.

During the study period, a total of 371 light-on test workers received the health examination at the clinic of the park, and 52 of them were excluded due to having ophthalmic diseases and other systemic diseases that may affect ophthalmic function. All the remaining 319 qualified workers agreed to participate in this study, and they were all females working by 4-shift rotations. The average age was 24.2 years old (standard deviation [SD] = 3.8), and the average employment duration was 13.6 months (SD = 5.7). Among the 11 ophthalmic symptoms evaluated, eye dryness was the most prevalent (prevalence = 43.3%). In addition, the prevalence of tear secretion dysfunction in at least one eye was 40.1% (128 cases), and contact lens users had an odds ratio of 1.73 (95% confidence interval = 1.02–2.94) in comparison with non-contact lens users. Comparing the Schirmer"s test results of those who also participated in the screening in the previous year, we found 40 of the 156 participants (17.2%) with normal test results in the previous year turned abnormal in 2001. In contrast, only 21 of the 76 participants (9.1%) with abnormal test results in the previous year turned normal, and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.02 for McNemar"s test).

TFT-LCD (thin film transistor-liquid crystal display) industry has been rapidly growing in Taiwan and many countries in the world. Taiwan"s global market share of LCD panels has reached 35.4% in 2003, which made Taiwan the second leading panel producer, next only to Korea [1]. The manufacturing of TFT-LCD involves array process (array), panel process (cell) and module assembly process (module). To ensure a high yield rate of products and reduce the costs, the manufacturers exercise strict quality assurance and quality control measures, and the careful inspection of panels plays a very important role in the whole manufacturing process. Panels with defects or imperfects can be picked up through strict inspections and then repaired or recycled.

Methods of inspecting the panels include optics instrumental examination, electric instrumental examination, and human eye check [2–4]. The eye check (light-on test) is to detect panel"s defects by human eyes. In general, it includes the gross inspection of the panel first, which is followed by inspection of the surface of panel, modules, and the panel"s picture display quality by microscopy.

The light-on test is one of the most important quality control steps during the panel process and module assembly in the manufacturing of TFT-LCD. In this test, the inspector controls the power switch of the light source of the product and, under the maximum electric current, lets the board illuminate red, green and blue for color testing and white, dark, and gray for monochrome testing. Because some minor defects only appear under extreme operation conditions, such a procedure is required to ensure a high quality of the product. It is called "light-on" test because the test involves turning on the light source of the product, in contrast with others that do not. The test is performed by human eyes, and workers, mostly women, generally carry out the task in a dark environment, which may cause eye strain and even lead to poor eyesight, throughout the shift with limited resting time [5, 6]. Furthermore, to ensure high quality and high yield, the TFT-LCD industry places most manufacturing processes in so-called "clean rooms." In clean rooms, the dust particles in the air are controlled to extremely low levels, and the temperature and the humidity are maintained at relatively lower levels in comparison with the general ambient environment in Taiwan. In addition, to prevent the contamination of dusts, clean room workers have to put on special clothing covering the whole body from head to toes [5].

Many workers complained about eye discomforts such as dryness and soreness, but the ophthalmic effects of working in such strictly controlled environments are not clear. To evaluate whether the clean room workers performing light-on tests have a high risk of developing tear secretion dysfunction and eye symptoms, we conducted a study in a TFT-LCD company in Taiwan. This study was in fact based on a work-place sponsored eye-health event, in which the employer and employees agree to include the evaluation of tear secretion function in the routine annual health check-up.Methods

We recruited workers of a TFT-LCD company located in the Tainan Science Industrial Park who received the annual routine health examination between June 1 and August 31, 2001. In addition to the medical history taken by the physician as a regular component of the health check-up, participants were asked to fill out a standard questionnaire, which collected information on demographic characteristics and ophthalmic symptoms, including eye dryness, eye itching, red eyes, eye pain, blurred vision at far distance, increased discharge, floaters, double vision, unable to focus from near to far, change of color perception, and blurred vision at near distance. Participants with history of ophthalmic diseases (including presbyopia, high myopia above 8 diopers, strabismus, amblyopia, glaucoma, color blind, and achromatopsia) and other systemic diseases that may affect ophthalmic function were excluded. According to the process in which the light-on tests were performed, the participants were divided into LCD station workers (in the panel process) and LCM station workers (in the module assembly). While these two types of stations have similar humidity (relative humidity 55 ± 5%) and workers perform the same task, LCD stations have lower environment illumination (4.0 vs. 129 Lux).

The health examination also included physical examination by experienced ophthalmologist, eyesight check, intraocular pressure measurement, and optic fundus inspection. The Schirmer"s tear secretion test was performed by dropping a drop of 0.5% Alcaine anesthetics and then placing a standard filter paper (Sino-strips, Chauvin Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Kingston-Upon-Thames, England) in the conjunctiva sac. The tear-wetted filter paper was read 5 minutes later, and tear secretion dysfunction was diagnosed if the paper"s wetting length was equal to or less than 5 mm. Both eyes of each participant were examined, and we defined a participant as having tear secretion dysfunction as long as one of the eyes showed abnormal test results. This study was carried out in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration, and verbal consent was obtained from all the participants. The study proposal was approved by the Research Committee of the Chi-Mei Medical Center.

During the study period, a total of 371 light-on test workers received the health examination at the clinic of the park, and 52 of them were excluded due to having ophthalmic diseases and other systemic diseases that may affect ophthalmic function. All the remaining 319 light-on test workers agreed to participate in the study. All the participants were women working by 4-shift rotations, and the average age was 24.2 years old (standard deviation [SD] = 3.8 years). They had a mean employment duration of 13.6 months (SD = 5.7 months), and 74 (23.2%) of them wore contact lens at work on a regular basis. Workers who wore contact lens at work had a higher prevalence of tear secretion dysfunction, but the differences in the prevalence were not statistically significant among the three age groups, between those who had engaged in light-on tests for more than one year and those who had not, or between the LCD and LCM station workers (Table 1).

Among the 11 ophthalmic symptoms evaluated, eye dryness was the most prevalent (prevalence = 43.3%) (Table 2). The prevalence was 32% for eye itching, 16% for red eyes, 11% for eye pain, 10.3% for blurred vision at far distance, 8.8% for increased discharge, 5.6% for floaters, 3.1% for double vision, 2.5% for unable to focus from near to far, 1.6% for change of color perception, and 1.6% for blurred vision at near distance. As many as 221 (69.3%) of the participants had more than one symptom. Participants with tear secretion dysfunction had a higher prevalence of eye dryness than those without the dysfunction (46.9% vs. 40.8%), but the increase was not statistically significant (p = 0.286).

The results of Schirmer"s tests revealed that the overall prevalence of tear secretion dysfunction in at least one eye was 40.1% (128 cases). In the uni-variate analyses, only the use of contact lens appeared to be a significant predictor of tear secretion dysfunction, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.69 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00–2.86)(Table 3), but the prevalence of eye dryness among contact lens users were not significantly higher. After adjusting for age, workstation, and employment duration, we found the use of contact lens was still a significant predictor of tear secretion dysfunction, and the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) was 1.73 (95% CI = 1.02–2.94).

A previous study has shown that many clean room workers of semiconductor companies had eye strain, especially those who engaged in inspections using human eyes [6]. Our study also found a high prevalence of eye discomfort among woman workers engaged in light-on tests in clean rooms, and the most common symptom was eye dryness (prevalence = 43.3%), followed by eye itching (32.0%), eye pain (11.0%), and blurred vision (10.3%). These symptoms were similar to those observed in workers working with video display terminal (VDT). A study on long term VDT workers in Taiwan showed that the major eye symptoms were eye strain (82.4%), eye dryness (52.9%), eye itching (52.9%), and blurred vision (50.0%) [7]. Another study on VDT workers in Taiwan found that the most prevalent eye symptom was eye dryness (52.8%), followed by visual blurring (35.3%) and eye pain (33.9%) [8]. Light-on test workers are similar to VDT workers in that they need to look at screens during their work, and therefore it is not surprising that the two groups of workers share similar eye symptoms. However, whereas light-on test workers work in clean rooms with low illumination, VDT workers do not necessarily work in such environments. Furthermore, during the light-on test, the examiner needs to turn the screen to the brightest status, and therefore there are still some differences between these two groups of workers. In addition, all the light-on test workers in our study worked for 12 hours in each shift, which might also contribute to the development of the eye symptoms. A study in Taiwan suggested that dry eye symptoms in VDT workers might be contributable to the need to look at the screen and the low frequency of eye blinking [8]. A study on Japanese VDT workers found an association between eyes" blinking frequency and tear secretion, and both were lower among VDT workers in comparison with non-VDT workers [9]. Since the light-on test requires binocular gaze on the LCD panel and insufficient blinking frequency is common among workers using VDT, it is not surprising that eye dryness became the most common eye symptom in our study. A survey on eye dryness in 3722 Americans between 48 to 91 years of age (mean = 65 years old) found a prevalence of 14.4% [10], and a study of 2127 Japanese who sought for ophthalmology outpatient department service for the first time found 17% of the patients suffered from dry eye symptoms [11]. In contrast, the overall prevalence was up to 43.3% in our study.

In our study, participants with tear secretion dysfunction had a higher prevalence of eye dryness than those without the dysfunction (46.9% vs. 40.8), but the increase was not statistically significant (p = 0.286). This might indicate that the dysfunction was generally not severe enough to introduce a significant impact on the subjective symptoms. However, the mean employment duration of these workers was only 13.6 months, and therefore the results can only reflect relatively short term effects. In fact, a study also observed dry eye symptoms in VDT workers with enough tear secretion, because the lack of eye blinking may cause uneven tear distribution on the surface of eyeballs, which also contributes to dry eyes [12]. The finding is in line with our observation, and further follow-up of this population should be conducted to evaluate the long-term effects.

A study in Australia on 1584 participants showed a higher prevalence of dry eye symptoms in those who were over 40 years of age in comparison with those who were less than 40 years old (18.1% vs. 7.3%) [13]. Another study indicated that the amount of tear secretion decreased with age [14]. In our study, however, age did not appear to be a significant predictor of tear secretion dysfunction. This was probably due to the facts that our study participants were young (mean age 24.2 years old) and that some other risk factors of tear secretion dysfunction were prevalent in the population, which could be inferred by the high prevalence of tear secretion dysfunction (40.9%).

The logistic regression analyses in our study showed that the use of contact lens was an independent predictor of tear secretion dysfunction. A study of 2127 Japanese who sought for ophthalmology outpatient department service for the first time also found the prevalence dry eye symptoms was higher among contact lens users (p < 0.02) [12], which support our finding.

The TFT-LCD industry has become a major industry in Taiwan and employed a large number of workers, many of whom, mostly women, are engaged in light-on tests. In this study, although the excess risk of tear secretion dysfunction in LCD workers in comparison with LCM workers, who had higher illumination in the work environment, did not reach statistical significance, we observed high prevalence of tear secretion dysfunction in both groups of workers, and in both groups the illumination was far under the lower limit of the range (200 to 500 Lux) generally recommended [15]. The low humidity in clean rooms [16], flashing light, low illumination of the work environment, and heavy use of the eye sight for long working hours might be factors of the high prevalence of tear secretion dysfunction and eye symptoms in this study population. In addition, we found the use of contact lens is an independent predictor of tear secretion dysfunction. Therefore, proper prevention measures should be taken to protect the eyes of these workers, including pre-employment training and adequate resting time. In addition, because the use of contact lens is a significant risk factor of tear secretion dysfunction and the environment and task can not be improved sufficiently to prevent the problem at the present time, these workers should be advised to avoid wearing contact lens during working hours. Intervention studies should be conducted to identify the effective prevention measures, and further follow-up should be conducted to evaluate the long-term health effects of the light-on test.

Hikichi T, Yoshida A, Fukui Y, Hamano T, Ri M, Araki K, Horimoto K, Takamura E, Kitagawa K, Oyama M, Danjo Y, Kondo S, Fujishima H, Toda I, Tsubota K: Prevalence of dry eye in Japanese eye centers. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 1995, 233: 555-558. 10.1007/BF00404705.

Screen time is even higher for people whose jobs necessitate looking at a computer monitor for all of their work. An ergonomic desk chair can alleviate some physical strain, but it’s the monitor itself that can help — or hurt — the most.

A monitor that’s not designed with your well-being in mind can cause eye strain, migraines and even muscular problems in your back and neck. Naturally, these effects lead to reduced productivity, absenteeism and general job dissatisfaction. But more strikingly, computer blue light is linked to blurred vision, dry eyes, macular degeneration and cataracts. It can even cause significant sleep issues.

It’s possible to mitigate these effects by switching to a monitor with built-in eye protection. Samsung has made eye care a priority in developing a number of unique display technologies, including a blue light filter for its monitors and Flicker Free technology.

Samsung’s latest high-resolution monitors feature Eye Saver Mode, which actively reduces blue-light emissions. This feature minimizes immediate eye strain and helps prevent longer-terms problems like phototoxicity, a condition of particularly high light sensitivity in the eyes or skin.

The best monitors for eye health address more than just blue light. Another culprit of eye strain and headaches is screen flicker — common on many desktop monitors, and nearly imperceptible to the naked eye. This flicker is a result of the screen’s backlight rapidly turning on and off. You may not notice it happening, but you will notice its effects. Samsung’s Flicker Free technology helps remedy this.

A high monitor refresh rate — the amount of times the screen updates per second — can help reduce eye strain, but above 75Hz, the difference on the eyes is minimal.

Together, these Intelligent Eye Care features have earned Samsung’s high-resolution monitors an Intelligent Eye Care certification from the gold-standard TUV Rheinland.

Besides the screen itself, your desktop’s physical aspects also contribute to its overall comfort. Samsung monitors’ ergonomic design offer height adjustment as well as tilt and swivel flexibility, so sitting in front of the computer is much less taxing on not just your eyes but also your neck and spine.

In the right environment, a curved screen offers considerable eye health benefits. You might even opt for a double-wide curved screen, like Samsung’s 49-inch S95UA. With a screen that imitates the curvature of the human eye, these displays mimic your natural field of vision — so your eyes don’t have to work as hard to focus.

Of course, not everyone’s workstation can accommodate a curved monitor, and not every job requires one. For smaller workstations, Samsung’s compact 24-inch T45F monitor comes with all the same protective eye health features. The monitor’s borderless design also makes the screen more immersive, to help keep distractions to a minimum.

With Samsung’s extensive range of high-resolution monitors, you can get the job done more comfortably — with eye-saving display features that let you put your health first.

In the modern world, our eyes are constantly bombarded with information from displays. Whether it be from a laptop, smartphone, or some other device, many of us spend a significant portion of our day staring at some kind of display. As such, it is paramount that we should understand the strain placed on our vision and some steps we can take to improve and protect the health of our eyes.

Our eyes are constantly fed information through screens. Most of us have jobs that require us to look at a computer display of some kind for several hours a day. After work, we head home and stare at screens throughout the evening and well into the night. It"s no wonder, then, that many people complain of eye strain, blurred vision, or headaches after a long day of work. These symptoms and others, collectively known as computer vision syndrome (CVS), may affect as many as 90% of people who use a computer monitor, tablet, or other electronic display during the workday.

So what can we do about CVS? There"s no escaping the fact that many jobs require computers and, thus, require staring at a screen. In this article, we will discuss a few things you can do to reduce eye strain and alleviate some symptoms of CVS. We will also offer a list of laptop features that may adversely affect our eyes and what facets of notebooks may lighten the ocular load. Finally, we will offer a short list of some recommended laptops with high-quality screens that have some of these vision-saving features.

The good news is that there are several steps you can take to minimize or outright prevent symptoms of CVS. Our eyes work like biological cameras; they are constantly focusing on an image, taking in light, and transmitting visual data to our brain for interpretation. By understanding how our eyes look at electronic displays, we can better control the stress placed upon them. The following list is by no means exhaustive, but these tips should help you if you consistently suffer from headaches, blurry vision, eye strain, or other common problems associated with CVS. Best of all, these are simple solutions that shouldn"t require you to buy new equipment or change your working situation.

Refocus your eyes periodically. Perhaps the best way to protect your vision is to give your eyes a break. If you spend an extended period of time in front of a computer monitor or other display, look away from the screen every 20-30 minutes. Pick out a distant object or spot on a faraway wall and focus on it for about 30 seconds. This refocusing removes the immediate strain placed on your eyes, and focusing on a distant object will help relax the muscles that control your eye.

Blink often. Blinking coats our eyes with tears and helps clear out any dust or particles that have found their way past our eyelashes. While blinking is an automatic reflex, some studies show that blinking rate is significantly reduced when we actively process information, such as when we are working at a computer monitor. This can lead to our eyes feeling dried out and may damage them over time. Like above, take a break every 20-30 minutes and intentionally blink your eyes very slowly 10 or more times. This will spread new tears over your eyes. You may also want to purchase lubricating eye drops if you suffer from very dry eyes.

Adjust your lighting. Some lighting situations can actively damage our eyes, particularly bright environments. There"s a reason why we squint when we step outdoors on a sunny day; our pupils contract, which requires some muscles in our eyes to stay flexed. If you can, turn down the lights in your office and partially block any ambient light coming in from outdoors. Turning off overhead lights or fluorescent bulbs can also help. Incandescent and halogen bulbs are easier on our eyes, and placing them lower down to offer indirect light can help reduce strain.

Adjust your display"s settings. Most modern LCD monitors and laptop displays allow the user to edit some settings. Lowering the brightness of your computer"s display will reduce ocular stress, similar to turning down ambient lighting. There is a threshold, though; if the computer screen is too dim, it can actually cause worse eye strain. Find a good sweet spot by incrementally stepping down the display"s brightness until your eyes aren"t squinting or straining too much to read text or view images. You can also download software to filter out blue light. Blue light has a shorter wavelength than red light and thus can cause greater eye strain, particularly if viewed at night. Blue-light filtering software shifts the color gradient of your computer"s display toward the red end of the light spectrum, increasing the wavelength of emitted light and reducing stress. A good app for this is f.lux, which can be set to automatically shift your display throughout the day. F.lux is free for personal use and is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS (jailbreak required).

In addition to the tips listed above, there are some laptop-specific factors that can directly affect our vision. Laptop screens vary widely from model to model, and there is no one perfect laptop screen when it comes to eye health. Still, here are a few things to keep in mind when you purchase your next laptop.

Matte screens are easier on the eyes. Perhaps the most noticeable facet of a laptop"s screen is the finish across the panel. Laptop displays have either a glossy or matte finish to them. Glossy panels allow more light to pass through from the LCD backlight and are typically brighter and more color accurate. However, glossy displays have a major weakness: reflections. A glossy finish will typically show reflections at lower brightness levels, which can distract our eyes and cause them to constantly shift focus, resulting in increased fatigue. Matte finishes, on the other hand, are made specifically to cut reflections. Matte displays typically show no reflections, making them highly usable in almost any lighting condition (provided the backlight is bright enough). Matte screens do sacrifice some color accuracy and brightness, but most are more than good enough for users that don"t routinely work with color.

Higher resolutions make everything sharper. Most modern laptops come with either a 1366x768 or 1920x1080 resolution screen, which is acceptable for most work. However, users that suffer from eye fatigue may want to consider getting a higher resolution display. A higher resolution means a higher pixel density, which can make text and images look much sharper. While a high-resolution screen will make icons and other UI elements smaller at the display"s native resolution, both Windows 10 and Mac OS X have excellent scaling options. Text on a 4K screen set to 200% scaling will look much crisper than text on a 1080p screen at native resolution.

Backlight brightness matters. While it"s important to control the intensity of light coming out of a laptop screen, making sure that the LCD backlight is bright enough to remain visible is equally as important. A screen with too dim a backlight can be hard to see in some lighting conditions, causing our eyes to strain to view the display. A backlight that can climb to 300-350 nits should be sufficient for most environments.

Poor contrast muddies up the display. Also worth considering is the contrast ratio and black levels of a display. Poor contrast can result in blurry or muddy images with ill-defined boundaries. This can subsequently force our eyes to constantly refocus in order to make sense of the boundaries of an on-screen picture or text. A contrast ratio of 1000:1 or higher will be adequate for most users.

PWM can be a headache. Many laptops rely on pulse-width modulation to dim the LCD backlight. We have written a detailed article on the issue, so suffice it to say that higher PWM causes less strain on the eyes. Laptops with low PWM (<500 Hz) can cause eye fatigue, headaches, and other adverse symptoms in some users. We measure the PWM (or lack thereof) of almost every device that crosses our test bench, so be sure to check a specific laptop review before buying to see if PWM is problematic.

Now that we know what to look for in a laptop, here is a list of some suggested devices that meet most of the criteria listed above. Again, there is not one "perfect" laptop when it comes to eye health. Still, the following devices come close and should help alleviate eye strain. Remember, the best way to protect your eyes is to take action yourself.

The laptop display that ticks the most boxes perhaps belongs to the 14-inch HP EliteBook 840 G5. The FHD panel is reasonably pixel-dense (157 PPI), has a good contrast ratio (1170:1), and is fairly color-accurate. What really sets the EliteBook 840 G5 apart is its backlight, which is one of (if not the) brightest on the market right now. The screen shines at an insane 630 nits on average, and the backlight is very evenly distributed (93%). In addition, the matte finish across the panel eliminates reflections and allows for use in all but the brightest conditions. While the 14-inch display may be too small for comfortable viewing from a distance, the EliteBook 840 G5 offers one of the best displays for eye health on the market today.

The Dell XPS 15 has long been touted as the Windows alternative to Apple"s MacBook Pro line for many reasons, but the display is often one of them. While Dell offers an alternative SKU of the XPS 15 9570, its glossy panel readily shows reflections and is thus not as conducive to eye health as its FHD matte sibling. While PPI could be higher on the FHD panel, the screen is pixel dense enough for most users. What makes the FHD XPS 15 9570 a good choice is its bright and relatively even backlight, its excellent contrast ratio, and matte finish. PWM is high enough that it will not bother most users, although some very sensitive eyes may be affected. Despite these small compromises, the FHD XPS 9570 is perhaps the best balanced display when it comes to eye health.

For those that want a larger screen, it"s hard to beat the 4K Lenovo ThinkPad P71. The 17.3-inch display is large enough to be easily viewed from a normal working distance, and the 4K resolution packs 255 pixels into every square inch. The 4K P71 offers a good contrast ratio (1155:1), good viewing angles, great color accuracy, and a matte finish. Its main weakness lies in the display backlight, which is somewhat dim (~330 nits) and uneven, making outdoor use more difficult than with the EliteBook 840 G5 or the XPS 15. The P71 is perhaps the best large display and one of the best for eye health.

Our eyes are one of our greatest resources, and keeping them healthy is important. As our lives focus more and more on electronic displays, the task of protecting our vision becomes increasingly difficult. Still, there are some laptop displays that are noticeably easier on the eyes than others. That being said, the most important thing to remember when it comes to keeping your eyes healthy is to take action yourself. Look away from your screen periodically and give your eyes a rest. This is the best way to ensure your eyes keeping looking good (pun intended) for years to come.

If you’re always surrounded by displays—PCs, smartphones and tablets—are you placing too much strain on your eyes, neck and shoulders? If this sounds like you, read this article and take steps to address it right away before your symptoms worsen.

Information technology has made our lives more convenient, but at the same time, eye fatigue caused by continuous viewing of displays has increasingly become a social problem. If you feel fatigue in your eyes, neck or shoulders, it"s important to properly address it rather than letting it go. If you let it go and your symptoms worsen, you could damage your mental and physical health, so be careful.

Some of the names for the various problems associated with displays and eyes are "computer vision syndrome," "VDT (visual display terminal) syndrome" and "technostress ophthalmopathy." They"re unavoidable problems when it comes to PC work in particular. There are various ways to address the problems, and the effects vary from person to person, but if you try one at a time, you"ll undoubtedly be able to experience a more pleasant digital life. It will also contribute to improved productivity in the office.

We"ve put together a list of 10 points about measures to address eye fatigue. We recommend checking the items that catch your eye first and then going back to the start and reading through all of them.

What can further worsen your eye fatigue in a situation like this is the light reflected from your display. Shiny glare panels are made to provide accurate blacks and colorful display, so they are good for watching videos, but they also tend to reflect outside light. In an office or similar setting, lights and other displays can be reflected on your screen, throwing off your focus and causing eye fatigue.

For regular PC work, an LCD with a non-glare panel that does not reflect light is easier to use. If the product you"re currently using has a glare panel, you can affix low-reflection film to the screen.

Fluorescent lights are brightly reflected on the glare panel, making the screen hard to see. These conditions can easily strain your eyes (left). A non-glare panel can substantially reduce the reflection of fluorescent lights and reduce the strain on your eyes (right). The difference is as plain as day.

It’s also important not to make the lights in the room too bright. It"s common for advice to focus on not letting the room be too dark, but if the lights are too bright, it creates a difference between the screen brightness and ambient light, and that"s also no good. More specific details on screen brightness are provided in Point 5. Also pay attention to the temperature setting on your air conditioner and the direction in which it blows. These things can cause dry eyes, and your seat should never be positioned so that the air conditioner is blowing directly in your face.

Generally speaking, the distance between the user and the screen should be at least 40 centimeters or 50 centimeters in the case of a wide screen. The reason you should be further away from a wide screen is that the wider screen will not fit completely into your field of vision unless you sit further back. The conditions will vary slightly depending on other factors as well, including screen resolution, text size and your eyesight.

No matter what the situation, if you are viewing a screen at a distance of less than 30 centimeters for long periods of time, your eyes are obviously going to become fatigued. If you have an A4-sized sheet of paper, hold it up longways between you and the screen on which this article is displayed and see if there is enough room for it to fit. An A4-sized sheet of paper is about 30 centimeters (297 millimeters) long, so if you"re viewing the screen from a shorter distance than this, you"re too close. If you"re viewing it at a distance of about 1.5 times that length, you"re safe for now.

Once you"re at the proper distance from the display, try to have it so that your line of sight is directly ahead or slightly downward when viewing the screen. You should avoid looking up at the screen, because that can cause dry eye.

Your posture sitting in your chair is also important. Sit back in the chair, sit up straight using the back rest, and keep the bottom of your feet completely on the floor. This eliminates extra strain on your neck, shoulders and lower back. Sitting hunchbacked can lead to health problems in the long run, so you need to exercise caution. If your feet don"t reach the floor, consider using a footrest.

The adjustment mechanism of the LCD is also important for working on a PC in a posture that does not strain the eyes, neck and shoulders. Choose a product that allows the screen to be lowered just above the table top and flexible tilt adjustments (photograph: EIZO"s FlexScan EV2436W.

Even if the installation location of the display and your posture during use is proper, working in the same posture for extended periods of time is not good for your eyes. The reason is that constantly looking at something at a fixed distance causes a gradual decline in your eyes" ability to focus.

Take a 10-15 minute break at least once an hour. Look into the distance and move your eyes up, down, left and right to adjust your focus. It"s also good to regularly use eye drops.

A common mistake people make is looking at smartphone and tablet displays during their break. This does not allow your eyes to rest. Stretch to relieve tension, stand up and walk around, and look near and far either indoors or outdoors to adjust the focus of your eyes.

The suggestions up to this point have been predicated on the assumption that you have sufficient eyesight or that you use glasses or contact lens to properly correct your eyesight.

Eyesight changes gradually during daily life activities. Even if you wear glasses or contact lenses, if you stay at the same prescription for many years, your eyesight will change without you realizing it, and this could cause eye fatigue or migraine headaches. Using eye drops and adjusting the focus of your eyes during breaks does not help this problem.

Where you get in trouble is your eyesight doesn"t change suddenly one day, so even if you have symptoms like eye fatigue and headaches, it"s hard to identify the cause. If you let it go, it could lead to glaucoma and other worsening symptoms, so you should have your eyes checked at least once a year, which may be included in your company or school health examinations. Be vigilant about checking to make sure your prescription is not off.

The brightness of your display should not be left at the default setting but adjusted according to the brightness of the room where it"s installed. This can greatly reduce the strain on your eyes. For example, in an office with normal brightness of 300-500 lux, the display brightness should be adjusted to around 100-150 cd/m2.

Particularly, when using the display for work, you"ll often be comparing paper documents with documents on the screen, so by adjusting the brightness of the screen to the brightness of the paper under the lighting, you"ll reduce the strain on your eyes, making this an effective measure against eye fatigue.

The majority of LCDs today have LED backlights. In some cases, the brightness adjustment mechanism (dimming system) causes eye fatigue. Specifically, caution is required with the system called PWM (Pulse Modulation), which is employed by most displays. In this system, the LED element blinking time is adjusted to control the display brightness — extending the time that it"s on makes it brighter, and extending the time that it"s off makes it darker.

For some people, this blinking of the screen is experienced as flickering, leading to eye fatigue. There is a difference among individuals in how this flickering is experienced. Many people using the same display will not notice anything at all, so even in an office where the same model is purchased in bulk, it"s difficult to figure out that the display is the cause.

The only way to prevent this is to address it with the display itself. Some displays prevent flickering by employing special dimming systems such as DC (Direct Current), a system that, in principle, does not produce flickering, and EyeCare Dimming, a hybrid system used in some EIZO products. By purchasing a product like this, you may eliminate eye fatigue for which the cause was unknown.

We"d like to add a note about the EyeCare dimming system. This hybrid system uses DC dimming at high brightness settings and PWM dimming at low brightness settings as it does a better job than DC dimming at reproducing colors at low brightness. PWM dimming is only used at low brightness settings, so the blinking luminance difference is smaller, thereby controlling flickering.

If you feel like your eye fatigue has worsened since starting to use your current display, this could be the cause. If you"re in an office, switching out displays with another member of the staff is another effective way to identify the cause.

EIZO"s FlexScan EV series employs the unique EyeCare Dimming system. We put a small USB fan in front of the screen to check for flickering. At high brightness, DC dimming is used, and the light emitting elements do not blink, so the shape of the blades appears circular (left). At low brightness, PWM dimming is used, and the blades appear separate from each other, so you can see that high-speed blinking that can"t be perceived is taking place (right).

Recently, it has become common to hear blue light pointed out as a cause of eye fatigue. This refers to light that is visible to humans (visible light) with a wavelength close to that of ultraviolet rays. Because it has a high level of energy, it is generally said to place a strain on the eyes.

The reason it has recently been the subject of attention is that there are many LCD products with LED backlights that have a high color temperature display (white appears bluish), and there are more cases where the user is subjected to stronger blue light than with conventional displays, so this type of problem has come under closer scrutiny.

Some methods to address the problem are to wear blue light blocking glasses or to apply blue light reducing film to the LCD screen. Also remember that on products that allow the display picture quality to be adjusted, you can lower the color temperature on the display.

For example, results of an experiment (results of EIZO study) show that if you change the 6,500-7,000K color temperature used in common displays to 5,000K, the 400-500nm wavelengths corresponding to blue light can be cut by about 20%. Furthermore, by adjusting the screen brightness to a proper level that does not cause eye fatigue, you can reduce blue light by a total of 60-70%. Many of the aforementioned blue light blocking glasses only cut up to 50% of blue light, so this is more effective.

It"s a little painful to hear, but in many cases, changing your lifestyle habits is a fundamental way that you can address eye fatigue. If you have poor lifestyle habits that can bring about poor physical health like lack of sleep, lack of exercise or nutritional deficiency from poor eating habits, take this opportunity to re-examine them.

If you"ve taken the above steps and your eye fatigue has not gotten better or there are signs that it"s getting worse, you should consider undergoing an examination by an ophthalmologist. Not only will you receive expert advice on your symptoms but it may also lead to early detection of inconceivable eye diseases like the aforementioned glaucoma.

As you can see from the points we"ve already gone over, if you really want to address eye fatigue, you obviously have to put in effort yourself, but your choice of display is another important point. No matter how much you as the user address eye fatigue, if your display does not meet certain quality standards, the effectiveness of your efforts will be limited.

If you"ve checked off items 1-9 but your eye fatigue has remained unchanged for a long period of time, you may want to turn your attention to the display itself.

For example, EIZO"s FlexScan EV series of LCDs places emphasis on addressing eye fatigue and has features to address points 1 (installation environment), 2 (posture during use), 3 (proper rest), 5 (brightness), 6 (flickering) and 7 (blue light) above.

The FlexScan EV series requires almost no cumbersome manual adjustments, offering the major advantage of automating features that address eye fatigue. If you"re someone who knows the tricks to addressing eye fatigue but are finding them difficult to implement due to being busy, we recommend that you seriously consider the FlexScan EV series.

In Paper mode, the color and contrast display is similar to paper. With this excellent feature, the color temperature is lowered instantly with the touch of a button, and blue light is substantially reduced (left). If you use the Auto EcoView function, the built-in illuminance sensor detects ambient brightness and automatically takes the display brightness down to the optimal level in real time (right). The aforementioned EyeCare Dimming system suppresses flickering of the screen display at the same time.

Paper mode display features color and contrast similar to paper. EyeCare Filter software applies filter pattern that controls brightness and contrast.

We"ve looked at various measures to address eye fatigue, but in cases where the user is required to remember to do them daily as they work, particularly when busy, people tend to neglect them. Moreover, when people make the effort to do these individual things to address eye fatigue but then don"t get much of a benefit due to the quality of the display, it"s really a waste if you think about it. Purchasing a replacement display requires an adequate expenditure, so people tend to hesitate, but if you"re purchasing a product that has excellent basic performance, eliminates the need for cumbersome manual settings and automatically lessens eye fatigue, isn"t it worth it?

The value of considering replacing the display itself is significant as a trump card for addressing eye fatigue. At home, it will help protect your eyes and the eyes of your loved ones, and at the office where you sit in front of the screen for long hours, it"s sure to contribute to greater efficiency and an improved working environment.

The visual health of microscope workers is an important occupational health concern, and a previous study suggested an association between lighting problems (e.g., flashing light, insufficient lighting) and eye symptoms among cleanroom workers in the electronics industry. This study aimed to explore the association between eye symptoms and lighting problems, as well as light-related counteracting behaviors among microscope workers in the cleanroom environment. Ninety-one cleanroom workers aged 20 years or older were recruited from an electronics factory. The socio-demographic factors, work-related factors, eye symptoms, and lighting problems were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. There were 92.3% female participants in this study. Among all participants, 41.8% and 63.7% had symptoms of dry eye and eye fatigue, respectively. The counteracting behaviors of needing to move closer (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 3.47, 95% CI = 1.11 to 10.88) was significantly associated with dry eye symptoms. Workers who were more experienced at the job (aOR = 1.03, 95% CI = 1.01 to 1.06) and had shorter break times (aOR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.91 to 0.98) were more likely to have eye fatigue. As a result of these findings, this study suggests that good lighting and adequate break times are crucial to improve the visual health of cleanroom microscope workers.

The electronics industry is estimated to have 18 million workers employed worldwide in 2010 [1], and the estimated growth of this industry was around 4% between 2016 and 2017 globally [2]. East Asian countries including Japan and Taiwan contribute to over 50% of the global export values. To ensure the quality of the products, small electronic components are generally manufactured in cleanrooms with controlled temperature, humidity, and air particulate matter concentration [3]. Special head-to-toe garments are required to reduce dust or lint exposure, but the garments may limit the field of view and restrict the range of movement, causing discomfort when the workers remain fully suited during the entire work shift. High prevalence of dry eye symptoms has been reported among cleanroom workers, and the symptoms may be reduced by allocating adequate working hours and wearing protective eyewear [4,5]. Common light hazards in the cleanroom environment include poor lighting, special lamp design (e.g., yellow light), high illuminance (e.g., microscope), and low illuminance (e.g., light-on test) [4]. These hazards may result in lighting problems, such as disability glare, discomfort glare, flicker, and veiling reflections, and cause eye discomfort [6,7,8]. Toomingas et al. indicated that non-optimal visual conditions (e.g., poor lighting, glare) was an independent risk factor for eye symptoms [9]. Although prior studies reported that dry eye symptoms at the workplace are associated with poor lighting, female gender, cleanroom, long employment duration, family history of atopic disease, and low humidity [5,10,11], the association between different lighting problems and eye symptoms among cleanroom workers is rarely addressed. Furthermore, dry eye syndrome may also be more prevalent in people of Asian and Hispanic origin [10,12].

Cleanroom workers are often required to manually inspect the products at short distances by eye or with microscopes. Small myopic shifts have been found in previous studies on near work and were suggested to produce eye fatigue [13,14]. The field of view under the microscope tends to have a much higher illuminance than the surrounding environment, and the large differences in illumination between the field of vision of the microscopes and the adjacent working areas may aggravate eye symptoms such as eye fatigue [15]. Indeed, a previous study reported that 59.6% of microscope users in medical laboratories had eye fatigue [16], and a case report describing a pathologist who had severe eye symptoms and myopic complications from occupational exposure to both low-intensity fluorescent light and high intensity light [17]. However, there is insufficient evidence to show if an increased risk of eye fatigue is associated with different lighting problems among cleanrooms workers using microscopes.

Previous studies have found that glare affects people with normal binocular vision and contributes to decreased productivity [18], increased blood flow in the trapezius muscle [19], and an increased blink rate [6]. There are several human adaptations or counteracting behaviors, including eyelid squinting, blinking, and changing postures, to reduce the negative effects of glare [6]. Changing postures and work at close distances could be seen as the behaviors to cope with glare and intensive near-visual work, respectively [6,20]. Although the visual health for cleanroom workers or microscope workers have been reported [5,16,21], the association between counteracting behaviors and eye symptoms among cleanroom workers is rarely addressed. Therefore, the aims of this study were to explore the association between eye symptoms and lighting problems, as well as light-related counteracting behaviors among cleanroom workers in an electronics factory.

The questionnaire collected demographic data, eye symptoms (e.g., dry eye and eye fatigue), non-eye related symptoms, work-related factors, lighting problems, and counteracting behaviors for lighting problems. The demographic data included age, gender, and history of myopia. Questions on eye symptoms were adapted from the Health Aspect of Lighting at Work by Health and Safety Executive [15]. In this study, we defined symptoms of dry eye as the presence of either dryness or irritation according to previous literature [22]. Non-eye-related symptoms including physical fatigue, neck pain, and shoulder pain were surveyed. We also assessed the work-related factors of shift type, experience at the job, working time, break time, duration of visually demanding tasks per working day, duration spent on display screens per working day, and the shortest distance between eyes and objects. With regard to lighting problems, we assessed the perceptions of disability glare (direct interference with vision), discomfort glare (not directly impaired but causing discomfort, annoyance, irritability, or distraction), requirement of color discrimination, flicker, and veiling reflections. One of the adaptations is counteracting behaviors like changing posture. In the study, needing to move closer and frequent shifting to view from different angles were chosen as counteracting behaviors for lighting problems.

All statistical analyses were conducted using SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). All data were expressed as frequency (percentage), mean ± S.D., or median (interquartile range). The differences in the distribution o