Clinical Applications of Power Vectors

The study of infant vision is closely coupled to the study of the refraction, change in refraction over time, and the effect of spectacle correction on visual development. Frequently, reports are limited to descriptions of spherical equivalent or cylinder power without regard to axis, as data are frequently collected in the clinical format of sphere, cylinder, and axis (S, C, A). Conversion from clinical notation to a power vector representation of refraction allows unambiguous description of how refractions change over time and differ between repeated measurements. This article presents a series of examples of Microsoft Excel spreadsheet formulas that make the conversion from clinical notation to power vector format, and provides examples of useful applications of these methods. (Optom Vis Sci 2009;86:599-602)