Low Vision Patient and Elderly People

Defining low vision and blindness:
Disorder, impairment, disability and handicap
WHO definitions
Evaluation of handicap for legal purposes (haittaluokat)
Low vision: Incidence and causes, prevalence
Measuring visual performance:
Acuity and contrast sensitivity
Glare and its effect
Reading
Methods of magnification:
Increasing object size
Decreasing viewing distance
Real image magnification
Telescopic magnification
Non-optical aids
Illumination and lighting
Aids for peripheral field
Eccentric viewing and “steady eye strategy”
Environmental modification and accessibility
Electronic devices and applications to aid vision
Ageing effects on vision and functioning:
Physiological changes - general and ocular physiology and functioning
Changes in vision
Visual acuity
Contrast sensitivity
Refractive error
Colour vision
Spectral transmission of the ocular media
Light sensitivity
Glare (disability and discomfort)
Dark adaptation, glare recovery
Visual fields
Critical flicker fusion frequency
Accommodation and convergence
Oculomotor system
Changes in perceptual function (non-visual) associated with ageing
Hearing
Coordination
Cognition
Social status
Clinical procedures and tests identifying changes in vision function of the ageing patient
Psychological effects of vision loss and management of patients with poor visual prognosis
Clinical management of ageing patients with multisensory loss
Assessment of the need for referral and consultation with other disciplines