The Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.) version 8 provides users with objective measurements of attention and inhibitory control. The T.O.V.A. version 8 is not an FDA-cleared medical device. Please contact The TOVA Company for more information. ========================================== T.O.V.A. 8.4 Release (2021) ========================================== THIS SHOULD BE ALMOST IDENTICAL TO 9.4 README. ========================================== T.O.V.A. 8.3 Release (December 2020) ========================================== Issues - Enabling the Compatibility Support Module (CSM) in the BIOS will prevent the PTE from booting automatically on EFI PCs. If CSM must be enabled on your system, please use a T.O.V.A. flash drive. - Multiple monitors or screens are not supported by the new PTE. - Mac customers may encounter an exception just after updating, which can be ignored. Just close and restart the TOVA. - Mac customers running macOS 10.15 Catalina or later must download our updater from https://tovatest.com/downloads/ and use "System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General tab > Allow anyway" to run it. - Catalina users must use utilities/TOVA_Admin_Settings.command to change admin prefs or approve the BAA. - Macs from 2016 or later do not yet have native audio support in the PTE. You may purchase a USB audio adapter or speakers as a workaround. - Macs from 2018 or later include a T2 security chip which must first be disabled in order to use the PTE. You may use the EAV setup or contact us for other options. Features - New Precision Test Environment (PTE version U2.0) for modern EFI systems, as used on newer PCs and Macs - Newer video adapters supported as well. - Includes new PTE boot options for compatibility with varied systems - Macs may now use the EFI System Partition launch setting instead of the TOVA flash drive. - New flash drives are automatically updated for booting the modern PTE. - T.O.V.A. flash drives also collect support logs from the PTE. - Improved compatibility with hard drive encryption, including BitLocker. - Switch between test types and instruction languages within the PTE. - Systems without an 'Esc' key can cancel testing with 'Delete' instead. - Instructions can now be advanced with mouse clicks, as well as arrow keys. - Touchscreen support for some systems - Legacy PTE (version B1.2) for older, BIOS systems has been updated to maintain compatibility. - Mac users select option "Use legacy PTE" to use CD or flash drive - Subject information written to the T.O.V.A. USB device is now encoded to hide PHI. - T.O.V.A. reports can be exported in HTML format. - Additional multimedia test instruction languages: Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Portuguese, and Swahili - Not available in Legacy PTE - Can reassign test sessions to a different subject from the Edit Session window. - Includes a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) to help you protect personal health information. - If you cannot sign our BAA, please let us know why, and send us the agreement you'd prefer to sign with us. - Automatic backup to T.O.V.A. server now available to organizations with a BAA. - Added search by session's subject age. - 'Hide Protected Health Information' preference now hides Subject name in the Session menu. - Adjust the visual stimuli size and brightness in the PTE. - Adjust and preview the External Audio/Video (EAV) visual stimuli in the Preferences window. - Added warning when you have less than 500 MB of disk space. Fixes - Improvements to Spanish instructions - Fixed treatment localization conflicts in T.O.V.A. file export/import. - Fixed and improved T.O.V.A. file import. - Faster collection of Tech support requests - Better support for large text sizes/high DPI displays - Fixed memory leaks affecting some systems. - Session info progress dialog no longer sometimes blocks access to Save Test results dialog. - Enforces minimum application window size. - Changing Admin settings no longer causes occasional error. - T.O.V.A. no longer alerts user to minor install issues. - English test instructions now work with Korean region settings. - Message now appears if T.O.V.A. USB device is disabled for ordering. - Hide PHI preference takes effect without restarting. - Subject and Session tables now sort correctly on startup. - Screen must calibrate successfully to administer the T.O.V.A. test. - Mac: Now copies Java 8 locally for added security, stability, and compatibility - Security fixes New System Requirements - The T.O.V.A. 8.3 Modern PTE is compatible with most new Windows 8 and 10 computers. - The T.O.V.A. 8.3 is no longer compatible with 32-bit PCs. - The T.O.V.A. 8.3 kit does not include a T.O.V.A. boot/install CD. T.O.V.A. boot CDs can be created or updated as needed for older computers. - The T.O.V.A. 8.3 no longer requires internet access to install on Windows. - The T.O.V.A. 8.3 is not compatible with Windows XP and Vista. - The T.O.V.A. 8.3 is not compatible with 32-bit PCs. - The T.O.V.A. 8.3 requires 2 GB of drive space. - The T.O.V.A. 8.3 requires 2 GB of RAM memory. ========================================== T.O.V.A. 8.2 Release (March, 2016) ========================================== Features - T.O.V.A. USB device now automatically attempts to sync test credits on startup. - PTE allows quicker volume adjustment. - Advanced audio configuration options for the PTE. Fixes - Standard score "cutoff" value is now back to original value of "< 40". - New microswitch firmware gives fewer false-positive microswitch errors. - Automatic backup uploads now reliably trigger after PTE session. - PTE now returns specific hardware errors. - PTE more reliably saves selected audio device. - PTE more reliably defaults to good audio source. - Windows: Test instructions avoid "Invalid display mode" error. - Windows: T.O.V.A. application better recognizes when an install was interrupted or incomplete. - Windows: Automatic backups are now more reliably removed on uninstall when requested. - Windows: Installer corrects permissions better on non-English systems. - Lots of other small fixes and performance improvements! ========================================== T.O.V.A. 8.2 Release (September, 2015) ========================================== Issues - Older T.O.V.A. CDs will not recognize that the Windows T.O.V.A. 8.2 is installed and will start the installer when inserted. Please cancel the install and update or replace your T.O.V.A. CD. - New Windows 8 or 10 systems should use the EAV hardware setup. The PTE is not yet available for these systems. - 2015 model year Macs should use the EAV hardware setup. The PTE boot CD and Flash drive may not be recognized on these systems. Features - Numerous report updates - New Performance Validity (replaces Symptom Exaggeration Index (SEI)) - New comparison graphs and streamlined Summary and Interpretation Notes pages - New T.O.V.A. Observation form, used to capture subjects' behavior during the T.O.V.A. test - Localization for multimedia test instructions - Spanish, Hebrew, Korean, French, German, Danish, and Swedish - Better database backup features - Simple backup of your entire T.O.V.A. database - Automatic database backup in the background - Changing database path now offers to move the database - Option to upload database backups to a secure TOVA server - Automatic database backup before upgrade to future versions - Special "blinding" preferences to assist double-blinded studies - Upgraded Precision Test Environment for better hardware support - New Customer Service Notifications help us reach you about account issues. - New Status window alerts you to problems in the T.O.V.A. and offers simple solutions. - Automatic firmware updates for T.O.V.A. microswitch (v3 and above) - Updated microswitch firmware (v7) better detects broken switches. - Offers to convert Screening tests to Clinical on a Clinical device - More information about the session data stored on device - Icon to distinguish between Visual and Auditory sessions - Simplified preferences Platform-Specific Features - Windows: Access to Admin settings without a separate application - Windows: Additional "Windows boot menu" PTE option - Mac: Booting to PTE no longer requires holding 'C' or entering a password - Mac: New scripts to update your CD or flash drive to the latest PTE Fixes - Screenshot sometimes captured screenshot capture window. - If the subject name included a semicolon, the user could not administer a test in the PTE. - T.O.V.A. USB device was sometimes not recognized immediately after install or update. - Bootloader startup message was sometimes mishandled. - Warning if PTE boot media are out-of-date - Windows: Improved T.O.V.A. service application - Windows: New alternatives to the T.O.V.A. service - Windows: Fix to occasional CRC errors when programming a test onto the TOVA device. - Improved support in PTE for audio devices and trackpad - Improved Credits interface--click 'Sync orders' to complete service orders. New System Requirements - Windows: Now copies Java 8 locally for added security, stability, and compatibility. Separately installed Java is no longer required. - Mac: Now copies Java 7 locally for added security, stability, and compatibility - Mac: Requires Mac OS X 10.7 or above. Apple offers a free upgrade path for compatible machines from 10.6 to 10.10. ======================================================================== T.O.V.A. 8.1 Release (January 9, 2013) ======================================================================== Features - Support for the new T.O.V.A. Synchronization Interface allows users to precisely synchronize events in the T.O.V.A. test with other lab or clinical equipment. For example, The sync interface could be used precisely correlate T.O.V.A. stimuli with EEG machines, allowing for precise measurement of EEG events such as the P300 response. - New T.O.V.A. flash drive boot option for systems without CD drives - New, improved Installation Guide - Improved interfaces - Updates - Advanced preferences - Treatments - Check EAV Audio - Credit ordering - Check T.O.V.A. hardware - Clarified calibration results - Practice test results now include variability - Different test formats are now available (for research only) - Search now includes 'OR' operator (see User's manual for details) - Option to remove SEI from reports - Blocks sleep mode during testing on XP, warns user if it can't - Send EAV instructions to primary or secondary screen - PTE features - Improved audio hardware support - Results buttons now available with 'Ctrl' key - Now supports USB speakers - Now indicates if audio capability is missing - Numerous other UI improvements Fixes - XP systems encountered strange message during Tech Support request, did not include system info. - Windows incorrectly identified .tova files as "open". - Comparing short and long format tests caused an error. - Closing the 'Check microswitch' window didn't stop the test. - Mac:Dialog buttons intercepted Option keys when editing text. - Error during cleanup stopped the T.O.V.A. service. - Some hardware errors during did not interrupt the test. - PTE could not detect the T.O.V.A. USB device on some systems. - Turning the PTE volume past '10' made the mouse disappear. - Hardware drivers did not work on 64-bit ASUS U46E systems. - Driver update didn't always reinstall driver correctly. - Updating via CD required extra steps. - Hardware Setup wizard - Detecting hardware with old firmware required 'Refresh'. - Modified EAV audio level wasn't saved. - IndexOutOfBoundsException received intermittently trying to retrieve a session. - API section was included on auditory reports. - Database, hardware problems occurred on systems with Turkish language/locale. - Launching a new session caused "com.tovatest.usbd.USBDCRCException: Warning: checksum not valid" and "com.tovatest.usbd.USBDErrorException: Unknown stimulus event type used in session event list" on some systems. ======================================================================== T.O.V.A. 8.0 Release (August 24, 2011) ======================================================================== Features - Now you can open (double-click) .tova files to view or import them - Online help now scrolls to the correct section, not just the correct page - New 'Copy' button in 'View Session' window replaces 'Copy page', 'Copy report' - New preference to hide subjects and sessions on startup, empty search - New preference to turn off instruction audio - PTE menu - New volume control buttons (Up/Down arrow) - New mute instructions button ('S' key) Fixes - Test date/time were not always kept current - Sessions tab did not update after edit - Hidden PHI was not removed from the Comparison report - Previous PTE kernel did not work with some audio hardware - Square symbols sometimes appeared on report - Instruction audio setting was not preserved between sessions - Windows: Tech Support request collected system information slowly - Mac: Command-Q, Quit in menu did not exit the T.O.V.A. ======================================================================== T.O.V.A. 8.0 Release (June 22, 2011) ======================================================================== Features - Most system-wide preferences are now more accessible - New Hardware wizard to verify correct installation - Page Up/Down keys work in report Fixes - PTE - Some bad calibrations were not being stored correctly - Test sometimes aborted after countdown - T.O.V.A. didn't automatically startup for a PTE debug log - Interrupted PTE test displayed green check - Instruction audio delayed start of test - Instructions sometimes unexpectedly aborted PTE - Completed practice test summary showed up as interrupted - Audio, volume controls work on more systems - Tech Support Request would not send attachments containing nulls - Check Hardware window hid after Check Microswitch - Check Hardware Monitor calibration locked up device - Closing screenshot dialog didn't return to Tech Support dialog - Instruction audio came back on after being turned off in same session - Instructions didn't appear for second round of testing - Removing treatments from a session did not update display, caused ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException - Numerous other UI fixes and improvements ======================================================================== T.O.V.A. 8.0 Release (April 6, 2011) ======================================================================== Initial release of the T.O.V.A. 8.0. There are just too many differences between the T.O.V.A. 7.3 and 8.0 to list, but here are some of the highlights: - Completely new user interface, hardware, data storage, reports, credits system, and online help - You can now administer a T.O.V.A. test without rebooting using the T.O.V.A. USB device and an external monitor (external A/V testing) - Compatible with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7 and now Mac OS X - Improved individual and comparison reports - Individual T.O.V.A. files now replaced with a searchable database - Built-in export to spreadsheet for researchers - Support for multiple security levels (running the T.O.V.A. with limited or restricted permissions) - New HIPAA-compliance features - Automatic updates - Request technical support, clinical support, or customer service at the touch of a button In fact, there's only one thing that hasn't changed: the T.O.V.A. test itself. It's still the most precise, accurate, and objective measure of attention in the industry.