If you are looking for the Snellen Eye Testing Chart PDF then you are in the right place. At the end of this post, we added a button to download the Printable Snellen Eye Testing Chart PDF for free.

Snellen Eye Chart

Snellen chart also called the Snellen eye chart, is a chart used to measure visual acuity by determining the level of visual detail that a person can discriminate. Snellen charts are named after the Dutch ophthalmologist Herman Snellen, who developed the chart in 1862.

The visual acuity test is used to determine the smallest letters you can read on a standardized chart (Snellen chart) or a card held 20 feet (6 meters) away. Special charts are used when testing at distances shorter than 20 feet (6 meters). Some Snellen charts are actually video monitors showing letters or images.

Direction to Use Snellen Chart

• Position the patient sitting 20 feet from the chart.
• Ensure that the room and Snellen chart are adequately illuminated.
• The patient may wear his/her current corrective lenses to assess for corrected visual acuity.
• Test the eyes one at a time, beginning with the worst eye while covering the good eye.
• Ask the patient to begin reading letters from the top.
• The smallest line read represents the visual acuity.
• Patients unable to read the large E on the chart (Figure 1) when wearing the best corrective lens have a visual acuity measuring less than 20/200.
• For patients unable to see the eye chart, check if they can count fingers (CF vision), see hand movements (HM vision), or perceive the light from a flashlight (LP vision). If the patient fails to identify the light, record this as no light perception (NLP).
• Repeat the procedure to measure the opposite eye.