Practical Low Vision Care: The Orthoptists’ Standpoint

Abstract

In the ophthalmology clinic, it is important to put into practice“low vision care”for patients with visual difficulties in daily living to promote their“quality of vision”. In low vision care, the orthoptists are in charge of assessing the patients’ visual function and selecting low vision aids required for medical assessment under the instructions of ophthalmologists.
In low vision care, the assessment of visual function is indispensable for understanding the eye condition of a patient. For correct assessment of visual function, orthoptists must consider the patient’s visual field condition（narrowness, presence of scotoma, etc.）during visual acuity tests, moreover, we should consider the patient’s condition during other assessments. Orthoptists select retinal image enlargement spectacles and magnifiers for patients who have difficulty reading, and optical aids, such as filters, for patients with photophobia. For patients who have difficulty writing, we sometimes find it effective to decrease their visual difficulty by introducing non-optical aids such as writing-guide.
In this article, I discuss the basic skills required by a neuro-ophthalmologist and an orthoptist for providing low vision care to patients with low vision by introducing various case studies.