What is the Useful Field of View (UFOV) assessment?

The Useful Field of View (UFOV) Assessment is a breakthrough cognitive assessment that reliably predicts crash risk in drivers. It was developed by Dr. Karlene Ball and Dr. Daniel Roenker of Visual Awareness, who were dedicated to improving mobility and quality of life for older adults and people with cognitive concerns. Posit Science is the exclusive licensee of the UFOV assessment and training technology provided by their Canadian partner, DynamicBrain, in English in Canada and in French globally.

What Is “Useful Field of View”?

“Useful field of view” is the area from which you can extract information in a single glance without moving your head or eyes.

Studies have shown that the size of useful field of view plays a key role in a person’s ability to drive safely. Individuals who experience reductions in their useful field of view are more likely to be involved in traffic accidents. In fact, individuals with poor useful field of view are more than twice as likely to be involved in a car crash than those in the normal range.

What is the UFOV Assessment?

The UFOV Assessment is a short (5-10 minute) online test that is typically given to an individual by a healthcare professional. It can be completed on any Internet-connected computer.

The purpose of the UFOV Assessment is to determine the size of the test-taker’s useful field of view, which can also be defined in terms of visual processing speed. Processing speed scores indicating a 40% or greater reduction in useful field of view signal cognitive performance concerns. 40% was chosen as the threshold because it is the point of greatest increase in crash frequency.