A Landolt C, also known as a Japanese Vision Test, Landolt ring or Landolt broken ring, is an optotype, i.e. a standardized symbol used for testing vision. It was developed by the Swiss-born ophthalmologist Edmund Landolt.
The Landolt C consists of a ring that has a gap, thus looking similar to the letter C. The gap can be at various positions (usually left, right, bottom, top and the 45° positions in between) and the task of the tested person is to decide on which side the gap is. The size of the C and its gap are reduced until the subject makes a specified rate of errors. The minimum perceivable angle of the gap is taken as measure of the visual acuity. It is generally practiced in the laboratory.[1]
The stroke width is 1/5 of the diameter, and the gap width is the same[2]. This is identical to the letter C from a Snellen chart. The Landolt C is the standard optotype for acuity measurement in most European countries. It was standardized, together with measurement procedures, by the German DIN [1], as DIN 58220 (now EN ISO 8596).