TY - JOUR TI - Contrast sensitivity in IAF aircrew AU - Swamy,S AU - Joseph,Catherine AU - Aravind,AS AU - Vevai,RJ AB - Previous research has reported the usefulness of contrast sensitivity (CS) as a measure of visual capability in aircrew. The purpose of this study was to gather comparative data on an Indian aircrew and non aircrew population. Aircrew comprised fighter and non-fighter sub groups. Psychophysical measurements of binocular contrast thresholds were made in 75 aircrew and 30 non aircrew (20-40 years) with the automated contrast sensitivity measuring apparatus, Nicolet Optronics CS-2000 at spatial frequencies within the range of 0.5 to 22.8 cpd. All subjects had visual acuity of 6/6 or better in both eyes. Individual contrast sensitivity function (CSF), variability and correlations between frequencies followed the standard trends in both groups. The mean CS values of aircrew were higher than that of non aircrew in all frequencies. There was a significant difference between the mean values of fighter aircrew population and non aircrew population in the spatial frequencies 3, 6 11.4 cpd. The mean CS values of fighter aircrew were non significantly higher than that of non fighter aircrew in most frequencies. Further studies are required to substantiate present findings for different applications of CS in aerospace operational environments. VL - 46 T2 - Indian Journal of Aerospace Medicine JO - Indian Journal of Aerospace Medicine J2 - Indian Journal of Aerospace Medicine SN - 0970-6666 SN - 2582-5348 ER -