| Terms of Use |
| Terms of Use |
SPARCS is a tool for the measurement of contrast sensitivity. It is not intended as, and should not be considered, a stand-alone diagnostic tool. Properly used, it may serve as an aid in the management of visual health for both individuals and health professionals by helping to identify and track visual loss due to disease. Under no circumstances should SPARCS test results be used or represented as a substitute for established diagnostic methods in making determinations of disease or recommendations about the advisability or necessity of surgery or medical treatment.
SPARCS places a high priority on the privacy of people who use it, and will not sell or distribute any personally identifying information. SPARCS collects and stores data about people who use and administer its tests, including test result data, who the test was administered by and in what institution, patient histories, and other limited personal information that could be relevant either for individual health purposes or for research about diseases and health issues to which SPARCS may be applicable. SPARCS may share de-identified data with third parties to the extent permitted by law.
All data accumulated in the course of administering SPARCS tests shall be the property of SPARCS, which retains full rights to use it, after de-identification, for its own purposes, to the extent permitted by law. SPARCS grants to those who administer and take SPARCS tests the right to use test result data for the benefit of individual test takers, and for research and education purposes, provided that, in the case of those who administer the test to individuals, they follow all applicable laws and regulations relating to the use of the test, test results and personally identifying information, that under no circumstance will they share personally identifying data, and that no data shall be sold or otherwise shared without the explicit consent of SPARCS.
An individual, office or other organization which administers SPARCS to patients or other subjects is responsible for communicating the authorized purpose of SPARCS, its limits as a diagnostic aid, the authorized ways in which personal and test data may be used, and shall obtain corresponding written consent from test takers, prior to use.
EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH A LIMITATION MAY BE PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE U.S. LAW, SPARCS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES TO ANY SPARCS USER OR ADMINISTRATOR ARISING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FROM USE OF THE SPARCS SITE, INCLUDING FINANCIAL LOSS, BODILY INJURY OR LOSS OF OR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY BELONGING TO SPARCS USERS OR ADMINISTRATORS OR THIRD PARTIES RESULTING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FROM USE OF THE SITE, OR FROM A MEMBER'S RELIANCE ON THE CONTINUOUS AND/OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION OF THE SITE OR ON THE MAINTENANCE OF DATABASES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SITE.
Fees may not be charged for the administration or the SPARCS tests or the interpretation of SPARCS test results except with the explicit written authorization of SPARCS.
SPARCS reserves the right to charge subscription or usage fees and to set different fees for different kinds of services. Fees may vary according to location and User type.
By accepting these terms, you agree that violation of these Terms of Use shall entitles SPARCS to terminate your account immediately and without refund of any fees that may have been paid.
As a convenience to its Users, SPARCS provides access to limited amounts of account history information such as test and patient data. SPARCS reserves the right to delete records from time to time, and does not guarantee permanent access to such stored records. As a convenience, SPARCS will send, when possible, notice to the email on record 30 days prior to the deletion of records. SPARCS recommends to Users who wish to keep records of all their SPARCS transactions that they periodically archive such data on their own computers or in another location they deem fit for that purpose, and/or that they keep independent records of their own on an ongoing basis.
SPARCS reserves the right to change these terms of agreement at any time. Notification of such changes will be posted on the website, and acceptance shall be required as a condtion for continued use of the SPARCS site. If changes in Terms of Use are not accepted, service will be terminated and fees refunded in proportion to the percentage of the subscription period that is unused. Changes in the Terms of Use which do not alter privacy protections, access to data or fees required for use of the site may be made from time to time without notice.
SPARCS may from time to time make changes to the website in order to improve its quality and performance.
The official language of is English. Any page or functionality offered in other languages in any part of the site is offered only as a convenience, and the User accepts responsibility for verifying that the non-English text corresponds correctly to the English language version of the site.
These Terms of Use shall be interpreted and construed according to, and governed by, the laws of Pennsylvania, excluding any such laws that might direct the application of the laws of another jurisdiction. The federal or state courts located in Pennsylvania shall have jurisdiction to hear any dispute under these Terms of Use.
The resolution of any disputes arising between SPARCS third parties administrating, providing access to, or facilitating the use of SPARCS) and people taking SPARCS tests is the sole responsibility of those parties. SPARCS reserves the right not to intervene or participate in any such dispute or the resolution thereof.
It is the responsibility of the User to use SPARCS in a manner that is consistent with and desirable for the User's objectives with regard to accuracy. Because of variables beyond the control of SPARCS, such as the ambient lighting level that is set in the testing environment, the presence of glare or brightness from nearby windows, noise levels in the testing environment, and variablility in monitor brightness, SPARCS cannot and does not guarantee the absolute accuracy of its test results. When tests are given in different rooms or on different monitors, the possibility that differences in test results may be attributable to such differences should be considered, and retesting in a controlled environment should be considered as a way of evaluating the cause for such differences. Users wishing to obtain the highest possible level of accuracy should assure that testing conditions are uniform, and should consider the use of photometers to verify such environmental and monitor uniformty.
SPARCS does not guarantee that its website will operate continuously or without errors. SPARCS servers or the operation of the SPARCS website should be expected to be unavailable from time to time for purposes of servicing, though SPARCS will endeavor to have the site operate continuously and with a minimum of errors. SPARCS does not guarantee that the speed of operation of its site will be constant or that it will meet industry standards for sites with comparable or less traffic and functionality.
SPARCS reserves the right to terminate operation of the site at any time. Users having paid fees for prospective use shall only be entitled to pro-rated refunds of their paid fees in proportion to the number of complete months not yet elapsed before the end of their paid period of SPARCS privileges.