Retinoscopy is arguably the most important method in the eye clinic for diagnosing and managing refractive errors. Advantages of retinoscopy include its non-invasive nature, ability to assess patients of all ages, and usefulness in patients with limited cooperation or communication skills.

To discuss the history of retinoscopes and examine current literature on the subject.

A search was conducted on the PubMed and with the reference citation analysis (https://www.referencecitationanalysis.com) database using the term "Retinoscopy," with a range restricted to the last 10 years (2013-2023). The search string algorithm was: "Retinoscopy" (MeSH Terms) OR "Retinoscopy" (All Fields) OR "Retinoscopes" (All Fields) AND [(All Fields) AND 2013: 2023 (pdat)].

This systematic review included a total of 286 records. Publications reviewed iterations of the retinoscope into autorefractors, infrared photo retinoscope, television retinoscopy, and the Wifi enabled digital retinoscope.

The retinoscope has evolved significantly since its discovery, with a significant improvement in its diagnostic capabilities. While it has advantages such as non-invasiveness and broad applicability, limitations exist, and the need for skilled interpretation remains. With ongoing research, including the integration of artificial intelligence, retinoscopy is expected to continue advancing and playing a vital role in eye care.

The authors describe a novel technique of performing retinoscopy assisted with a smartphone (gimbalscope). We found this technique of digital retinoscopy to be useful for demonstrating and documenting retinoscopic reflexes and in addition as an easy teaching tool. This technical report explains the assembly of our smartphone-assisted retinoscope and provides examples of the range of normal and abnormal reflexes that can be captured.

The video retinoscope presented here makes it possible for the first time to interactively demonstrate, discuss, evaluate and document optical phenomena with the aid of an integrated touch display. The precision in relation to the objective refraction results between the conventional retinoscope (CS) and video retinoscope (VS) is comparable (p = 0.093, Wilcoxon test). On the basis of questionnaires using visual analogue scales (0 = very unfavorable/10 = very favorable; subsequently the median/interquartile range is given) during a pilot study, 12 test persons rated the CS (VS) with respect to the feasibility of continuous light band movements with 6.9/1.3 (6.0/4.2) and the ease of use with 8.1/2.1 (8.9/1.6) out of a maximum of 10 points each and thus both retinoscopes as equivalent. In terms of weight, the subjects favored the conventional retinoscope with a rating of 8.7/2.2 (4.0/4.8).