AIM: To investigate the underlying factors by establishing a new paradigm for assessing control ability under stereopsis testing conditions. METHODS: This was a prospective observational study. We evaluated the control ability of intermittent exotropia (IXT) patients in three conditions: natural 2D optotype viewing, 2D optotype viewing with polarized glasses, and 3D optotype viewing with polarized glasses. Recording with a smartphone, we captured videos to analyze the accurate time of spontaneous exodeviation and subsequent realignment before and after breaking fusion. Additionally, the correlation of stereopsis were also analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 48 patients (age range: 4-33y
54.17% male) participated in the study. When viewing 3D optotypes with polarized glasses, their median control scores were 1 (interquartile range, 0-4) at distance and 0 (0-1) at near. These scores were significantly better than those observed under natural viewing conditions, which were 2.5 (1-5) at a distance and 1 (0-3) at near (Friedman test, CONCLUSION: IXT patients exhibit enhanced control ability when using polarized glasses to view 3D optotypes, notably improving realignment capabilities. This expands our understanding of current tests and offers a potentially sensitive method for assessing IXT severity.