Multiple devices can assist visually impaired people struggling with age-related macular degeneration or other diseases like diabetic retinopathy or retinitis pigmentosa to stay connected and live more fulfilling lives. These high-tech adaptive technologies can keep their world active.

The appropriate device for each patient will depend upon their goals, best-corrected visual acuity and other factors. Here are some options available to them:

Optical Magnifiers

Optical magnifiers come in various forms and sizes. From handheld models to those attached to eyeglasses or stand alone devices, optical magnifiers provide two to 14x magnification of objects to reduce strain and fatigue often experienced when reading or using computers.

Many patients struggle to locate an optical magnifier that meets their specific needs, so practitioners can assist by asking about the patient’s goals and suggesting devices that will meet those goals.

Macular degeneration patients might benefit from installing a Galilean telescope implant into an eyeglass frame to refocus light onto healthy photoreceptors around the macula, providing some useful central vision. The criteria for participation in this ongoing clinical trial of this implant include being age 65 or over with visual acuity better than 20/160 in both eyes without active choroidal neovascularization in either eye, a stable bilateral central scotoma due to AMD, good central retinal response with normal color vision, no other retinal diseases (such as Stargardt disease, Retinitis Pigmentosa or diabetic retinopathy), enough functional independence as well as support networks of care.

Handheld illuminated optical magnifiers have been proven to facilitate sustained, silent reading for standard-sized continuous text for visually impaired adults, which represents an important discovery that will assist clinicians in meeting the needs of their clients and patients.

Electronic handheld magnifiers have proven to be cost-effective alternatives to reading glasses for patients with mild to moderate visual impairment, providing additional advantages like large print text display capabilities as well as being easily portable.

Clinicians must include new devices in a comprehensive low vision care plan for their patients with central vision loss. By including these technologies in their plan of care, including simple telescopic devices and wearables, it will enable practitioners to provide better services, helping their patients complete everyday activities such as cooking, reading, watching television or taking medication more effectively.

Video Magnifiers

Video magnifiers can be an invaluable aid for people suffering central vision loss from age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, glaucoma or other eye conditions. Their increased magnification levels allow users to enlarge text or objects on a screen to improve readability; additionally they connect directly to computers so users can expand reading and writing skills as well as use online applications for work or leisure activities.

Video magnifiers offer more versatility than other low vision devices, as desktop video magnifiers may be more powerful than portable versions and may offer features such as adjustable contrast and color viewing modes, screen sizing options and enhanced models capable of scanning text to audible speech, so individuals can hear what they are seeing.

Digital assistive technology solutions may be particularly helpful to people suffering from AMD and related eye conditions that cause macular degeneration, glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy. By providing real-time information about their environment they allow patients to better communicate and manage daily activities independently while remaining connected with family and friends through video calls or live video chatting.

Electronic magnifiers, telescopic lenses and night vision aids can also be beneficial to those experiencing central vision loss, providing usable vision in dark or blurry areas. Some products even boast magnification levels up to two times and can be worn in eyeglasses or handheld devices.

Other products enable the user to interact with everyday items, like phones, clocks, timers and blood pressure cuffs by voice control. There are talking watches and timers as well as self-threading needles that allow people less dependent on family and friends for needle threading. Furthermore, smart home systems and digital devices such as touchscreen readers provide additional means to communicate visual data visually as audible words and numbers.

Binocular Telescopic Devices

Low vision aids are available to magnify objects and help your patients see them more clearly, depending on both their functional vision goals and tolerance for diplopia (double-vision). Telescopes are popular low vision devices; handheld or mounted telescopes come in various sizes and magnification levels while spectacle-mounted telescopes may provide optimal use – often monocular or binocular with bifocal or prismatic lenses, they are commonly prescribed to improve reading or other close work tasks.

Some patients suffering from central vision loss can benefit from surgically implanting a Galilean telescope implant into the eye to correct it by projecting images directly onto healthy photoreceptors around the macula, providing usable central vision while decreasing scotomas and improving quality of life. The 2.7X SING IMT can be used with high power spectacle lenses for binocular viewing experiences or independently as an implant; extensive rehabilitation is often necessary post-implant in order to maximize use of this new vision and coordinate eyes properly for clear unified sight.

Optometrists provide functional vision assessment services to patients still driving, using modern equipment to evaluate how much of their remaining visual acuity they can utilize for safety on the road. Based on this assessment, those wishing to continue driving may be fitted with bioptic telescope glasses – which make distant objects appear larger when worn over their regular prescription – or an intraocular or extraocular telescope from their optometrist.

Low vision professionals should also explore newer assistive technology such as mobile phones, apps and wearables designed to be discreet yet easy for patients to learn and adapt to – providing maximum customization possibilities tailored specifically to each patient. Such technologies will expand their potential low vision care population so more patients can lead independent and fulfilling lives.

Wearable Devices

Low vision patients often struggle with daily activities that require central vision, like reading, driving and recognizing people. Low vision devices provide patients with tools to maintain independence and restore quality of life. Technology has evolved to offer individuals customized low vision devices tailored specifically for specific eye conditions – smartphones to handheld telescopic devices are all changing how individuals engage with their environment.

Optometrists provide individuals with low vision with many optical devices available, giving optometrists numerous choices when treating them. These devices can magnify objects to make them larger for viewing or reduce glare and enhance contrast by enlarging images; magnifiers may be handheld, mounted on stands, or integrated into eyeglasses – the latest high-resolution lenses can capture and transmit information directly into the brain – this technology is especially beneficial to individuals suffering from macular degeneration, glaucoma or any eye condition that causes central vision loss.

Nonoptical devices are electronic low vision aids designed to control lighting or enhance contrast of an image, which are particularly helpful for individuals living with macular degeneration as their light-sensitive tissues are affected. Nonoptical devices may offer adjustable brightness levels, black and white modes or color focusing modes which support the remaining areas of good vision.

Video magnifiers are another popular solution for those living with low vision. These high-tech devices magnify text and images by converting video signals into electrical impulses that stimulate retinal neurons that process visual data. Some handheld versions exist while others can be attached directly to computers or closed circuit televisions for easier use.

Wearable digital devices can also be customized to support various activities that rely on central vision, such as character recognition or reading/navigation. A camera equipped with built-in character reader could allow for this purpose; similarly, smartphone apps that magnify screens may help enhance reading or navigation skills. Wearable devices provide individuals with independence while increasing quality of life and confidence in social or work-related situations.

Early identification and treatment of eye conditions is key to slowing the progression of vision loss and decreasing dependence on low vision devices. Low vision rehabilitation services provided by trained opticians can assist individuals in devising strategies to manage visual impairments more effectively and restore functionality that had been lost previously. Reach out to an eye care provider specializing in low vision to arrange an appointment to learn of what options may be available to you.