What notation is best for near visual acuities?

• A. Snellen Notation
• B. M Notation
• C. Decimal Notation
• D. LogMAR Notation

Answer: (B)

Evaluating near vision works best when the measurement reflects the actual print size people read at close distances. M notation does exactly that by using the size of print defined in M units, where a 1 M letter is the size that would subtend five arc minutes of visual angle at a reference distance of one meter. For near testing, clinicians present letters at a near distance (often around 40 cm) and report the acuity in M units. This ties the measurement directly to real-world reading tasks—people understand what print size corresponds to their day-to-day reading needs, and it makes tracking changes or planning magnification straightforward. M notation is also convenient because it stays consistent when considering different reading distances or comparing across patients. In contrast, Snellen is anchored to distance and isn’t as intuitive for reading at near, while decimal or logMAR scales are less practical for near-vision tasks. So the near acuity measurement is best expressed in M notation.