Workshop on low vision mobility. The low vision person--a marginal man.
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1. Ophthalmic professionals should avoid using the term "blindness' when referring to lesser levels of vision loss. Vision loss describes any type or degree of change in vision; blindness is total loss of sight. 2. Ophthalmologists deal with anatomy and organ function whereas rehabilitation counselors address the socioeconomic and skills aspects of vision loss. Successful visual rehabilitation must be a team effort with good communication between all professionals. 3. The replacement of the simple dichotomy between "legally sighted" and "legally blind" by normal vision, low vision, and blindness provides a more accurate and less stigmatizing classification.
1. To predict function and prescribe low vision aids, accurate measurements are needed. The routine measurement range can be extended by moving test charts normally used at 20 ft to a closer distance; 1 m is recommended, which gains a factor of 6. 2. Some practitioners recommend testing all reading at a standard distance, but they differ in the distances they recommend. Using a variable distance and recording the distance with every measurement allows for patients' preferred distances. 3. If the distance and letter size are properly recorded, the same visual acuity score should be calculated for all distances. Inches and J numbers, the most prevalent measurements, make visual acuity calculations impossible, but by adopting metric measurements, calculations are far easier.
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The Low Vision Clinic at the Palmerston North Hospital has now been operating for 10 years. Over the course of these ten years a number of factors have emerged which can be as readily applied to general ophthalmological practice as to low vision practice. The philosophy of low vision care is one of which all ophthalmologists should be aware and includes factors to be taken into account when dealing with children, people in the workplace, and everyday factors involved in daily living activities, all of which are equally relevant in routine ophthalmological practice. This paper endeavours to share some thoughts on these factors and also discusses means by which the visually handicapped can be helped in areas where specialist low vision services are not readily available.
The low vision patient's ultimate function and ability to profit from his rehabiliation are influenced by his eye disease. A discussion of low vision patient management uses as a basis the observation that greater success is evidenced when the low vision patient is treated in the context of his eye disease, visual acuity and his subsequent adjustment problems. The diagnosis, visual acuity and the visual field are explored as elements of a functional classification. The author classifies eye diseases according to the pattern of visual field loss: no loss of visual field; central or macular field loss; peripheral or perimacular field loss. Visual characteristics are then elaborated and case management is suggested in the context of each category.
The low vision child has long been neglected by the professional community. A self-analysis of the usefulness of optometric service must be made as to professional attitudes and the understanding of the low vision aids as well as the patient that is expected to wear them. Once these hurdles are overcome, the optometrist is more able to help the low vision child become a productive, contributing member of society.
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Low vision is subnormal visual acuity or abnormal visual field resulting from a disorder in the visual system that cannot be corrected with ordinary eye glasses or by medical or surgical intervention. The major causes for low vision are macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and cataracts. Low vision devices are often helpful for all of these causes. A low vision comprehensive visual rehabilitation examination usually includes initial interviews with patients and their families, with an emphasis on the patients' goals and realistic expectations of what they want to achieve.
Costly low vision aids are rented to patients by the Otago Hospital Board. Occupational therapists see the patients in the Low Vision Clinic and then as necessary in their homes. As a consequence accurate follow-up and analysis of the help provided by these aids is available. Patients with senile macular degeneration use telescopic reading aids for an average of 27 months after they are prescribed.
Persons with low vision are increasing in numbers and searching for access to quality low vision services. Working with these patients is an important part of all optometric service models. Issues that should be considered and services that should be provided to patients with low vision are discussed.
One hundred and sixteen patients with Stargardt's disease demonstrated the most useful optical aids that enabled them to obtain an education and employment. The most useful optical aid for distance was the 8X monocular focusable telescope. For near, high-add bifocals, tri-focals, half-eye binocular spectacle magnifiers, paperweight-type magnifiers and hand magnifiers were most useful. Optical aids were prescribed for 102 patients with a success rate of 96%. The progression of visual loss is generally gradual and symmetrical terminating within ten years after onset and not becoming worse than 20/800 (6/240). Academic success seems to be related more to intellectual ability than degree of visual impairment. Highly trained and educated individuals with Stargardt's disease were able to find employment and perform duties usually associated with normal vision.
An open low vision clinic has been in operation at University of Wales College of Cardiff, Department of Optometry for 5 years. This paper describes the demography and visual characteristics of 218 consecutively presenting patients. A detailed survey of the aids prescribed is conducted. A significant proportion of low vision patients required only simple aids (56.8%) and low magnification (71.6%). It is suggested that these patients could be assisted in an optometric practice. In addition, visual acuity, distance or near is not a good indicator of eventual visual performance with an LVA. Therefore, it was concluded that all patients having measurable form vision should receive a low vision assessment.
The first low vision clinic was instituted at the Industrial Home for the Blind in 1953 in response to a growing demand that more effective use be made of the residual vision in blind persons. The technology was there. Eye practitioners certainly knew enough about vision problems to offer many of these people an opportunity to enter a new life. The problem was: how to put that knowledge to work through a sound service delivery system. By its twentieth anniversary in 1973 the clinic had seen almost 5,000 patients for low vision evaluation and had built a service which consistently provided substantial and useful improvement in vision through the use of optical aids to a majority of its patients. The low vision optometric staff works as an integral part of a rehabilitation team. That team consists of a number of professionals, including ophthalmologists, social workers, teachers, and a variety of rehabilitation instructors. All members work simultaneously to create a total program of rehabilitation for thepartially sighted. We feel this teamwork approach is of basic importance to effective rehabilitation.
Autofocus (AF) low vision telescopes offer the potential to increase the acceptance and utilization of such low vision aids (LVA) by the visually impaired. Many patients resist conventional manual focus telescopes for a variety of reasons including appearance, field of view, weight, and utility. The elderly who comprise the significant part of the target population may also resist telescopes due to an avoidance of the technical challenge of its use. Although an AF telescope is technically advanced, it may allow for less manipulation by the wearer and hence enable its more effective application to visual tasks, especially in the near- to mid-range where depths of field narrow and the demands for focusing increase. There are many challenges involved in the application of AF technology to LVA including modification of the focusing range, signal processing for physiologically acceptable performance, and power and weight considerations. A preliminary infrared (IR) AF prototype based upon our recent work with the Ocutech Vision Enhancing System (VES) has been produced. Initial findings are presented which address the requirements of a subsequent version as well as the challenges that will be faced to optimize such a device.
The contrast sensitivity of 51 low vision patients (95 eyes) showed a substantial decrease in all spatial frequencies. The peak contrast sensitivity was shifted to 1 C/D from the normal 3-4 C/D. The high-frequency cut off is correlated to the visual acuity positively. Of the 33 patients, the preferred eye was the eye with better peak sensitivity in 28 patients (84%), while the preferred eye was the eye with better visual acuity in 22 patients (66%). It seems that the peak sensitivity is more important than visual acuity in determining eye preference. It provides a useful information for the clinician to determine which eye to train with low vision aids. Forty patients among 46 patients (87%) with RFN (Recognized Frequency Number) > or = 3 are able to read No.5 reading card, while 5 patients among 5 patients with RFN < 3 are not able to read No.5 reading card. The contributions of CSF to the low vision are evaluated.
Eighty three cases of low vision patients (144 eyes) were examined with distant visual aids. The average visual acuity of the 144 eyes before refraction was approximately 0.07, while the counterpart afterwards was about 0.1 (p less than 0.01). With the 4x monocular focusable aid, acuity improved in 142 eyes out of the 144 eyes. The combined use of clip-on distance aid and the spectacle reading aid was observed to be especially suitable for partially sighted students. The mean MEF of 142 eyes was 0.9435 +/- 0.2068. The paired T-test between the difference of actual magnification and theoretical magnification was not significant at the 5% level. The factors contributing to the variance of MEF were discussed.
A cooperative Optometry Residency in Low Vision Rehabilitation has been established by the Optometry Sections at Hines Veterans Administration Hospital, Westside Veterans Administration Medical Center and the Illinois College of Optometry. The objective of this program is to train optometrists to function within, develop and direct clinical low vision programs in multidisciplinary settings. This optometry residency is unique in that it provides experience in delivering clinical low vision services in both inpatient and outpatient settings for patients of all ages during all stages of the clinical course of their disease, treatment and rehabilitation. Clinical rotations include the Optometry Section at the Central Blind Rehabilitation Center, the Chicago VICTORS Program, the Low Vision Clinic and affiliated Low Vision Clinics of the Illinois College of Optometry.