There have been greater advances in our knowledge of the visual function and its disabilities in the past 50 years than had accumulated in all of the previous years. This applies not only to the basic science of biochemistry, physiology, physiopathology, and cytopathology but also to the diagnosis and treatment of visual dysfunction and ocular disease. These advances have been aided by a proliferation of ingenious instruments. When I began my residency in ophthalmology at The Wilmer Institute in 1938, one was supposed to learn not only the physiology of vision but also how to diagnose and treat all phases of ophthalmology including disabilities of the orbit, sclera, retina, lens, and cornea. In addition he or she was supposed to understand neuro-ophthalmology, ophthalmic genetics, and so-called uveitis. It soon became evident that no one could adequately comprehend all of these areas and, therefore, most young trainees today take a year or two of fel lowship in a specialized area following their three-to five-year residency train ing. Following this they join a group of other ophthalmologists and specialize. Thus, they become more expert in the diagnosis and treatment in a limited area in ophthalmology. When I returned to The Wilmer Institute in 1955 as Head of the Department I was the only full-time member of the staff. To date we have some 28 full-time ophthalmologists working in highly specialized areas of our institution.

When children and adults apply for disability benefits and claim that a visual impairment has limited their ability to function, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) is required to determine their eligibility. To ensure that these determinations are made fairly and consistently, SSA has developed criteria for eligibility and a process for assessing each claimant against the criteria. Visual Impairments: Determining Eligibility for Social Security Benefits examines SSA's methods of determining disability for people with visual impairments, recommends changes that could be made now to improve the process and the outcomes, and identifies research needed to develop improved methods for the future. The report assesses tests of visual function, including visual acuity and visual fields whether visual impairments could be measured directly through visual task performance or other means of assessing disability. These other means include job analysis databases, which include information on the importance of vision to job tasks or skills, and measures of health-related quality of life, which take a person-centered approach to assessing visual function testing of infants and children, which differs in important ways from standard adult tests.

About 4% of the world population has visual impairment or blindness. This book is aimed at addressing different causes of visual impairment and blindness, their epidemiology, manifestations, risk factors, prevention of progression, and treatment. It is aimed at encouraging physicians and researchers to increase efforts to prevent irreversible and treat reversible blindness for the betterment of the world. Therefore, it is essential to be fully aware and knowledgeable of the manifestations of the diseases causing blindness, and this book covers some of their different aspects. Each chapter was written by experts from around the globe. Thus, it reflects the importance of the subject.

Recent vision research has led to the emergence of new techniques that offer exciting potential for a more complete assessment of vision in clinical, industrial, and military settings. Emergent Techniques for Assessment of Visual Performance examines four areas of vision testing that offer potential for improved assessment of visual capability including: contrast sensitivity function, dark-focus of accommodation, dynamic visual acuity and dynamic depth tracking, and ambient and focal vision. In contrast to studies of accepted practices, this report focuses on emerging techniques that could help determine whether people have the vision necessary to do their jobs. In addition to examining some of these emerging techniques, the report identifies their usefulness in predicting performance on other visual and visual-motor tasks, and makes recommendations for future research. Emergent Techniques for Assessment of Visual Performance provides summary recommendations for research that will have significant value and policy implications for the next 5 to 10 years. The content and conclusions of this report can serve as a useful resource for those responsible for screening industrial and military visual function.

A Survey of the Utilization of Rehabilitation Services by the Visually Impaired Elderly Population -- Low Vision Care: Is Ongoing Assessment Really Necessary? -- Are Low Vision Aids still used Six Month safter Prescription? -- Part II -- DOMICILIARY FOLLOW UP IN LOW VISION CARE -- Low Vision Services in the Context of Vision Rehabilitation -- Rehabilitation of Visually Impaired Children in China -- Residual vision and integration: The implications for India in the management of its blind population -- The Visual Advice Centre Eindhoven, An Experiment in Dutch Low Vision Care -- Meeting the Needs of a Geographically Isolated Paediatric Low Vision Population -- Part III -- The ICIDH as a basis for a uniform language in rehabilitation -- An interdisciplinary model for the rehabilitation of visually impaired and blind people -- Suggestions for the classification of impairments and disabilities of low vision -- VISUAL ACUITY MEASUREMENT for LOW VISION -- The FUNCTIONAL VISION SCORE -- A method to evaluate and rehabilitate the functional vision of visually impaired people -- Quantitative Evaluation of Visual Function -- Functional diagnosis and rehabilitation in proposals for an information support system for the treatment of the visually disabled -- Optometric Involvement in Low Vision Training -- The Importance of Social Work with the Multidisciplinary Assistance of the VAC-E -- The Graduate of Poland's First Program in Vision Rehabilitation - a Follow-Up Survey -- Author Index

Now updated and expanded to cover the latest technologies, this full-color text on clinical refraction uses an easy-to-read format to give optometry students and practitioners all the important information they need. Also covers a wide range of other aspects of the eye exam, including anterior and posterior segment evaluations, contact lens, ocular pharmacology, and visual field analysis. Four new chapters cover wavefront-guided refraction, optical correction with refractive surgeries, prosthetic devices, and patients with ocular pathology. - Offer precise, step-by-step how-to's for performing all of the most effective refractive techniques. - Presents individualized refractive approaches for the full range of patients, including special patient populations. - Contriubtors are internationally recognized, leading authorities in the field. - New full-color design with full-color images throughout. - Completely updated and expanded to include current technologies. - A new chapter on Optical Correction with Refractive Surgeries, including keratoplasty, traditional refractive surgeries (e.g. LASIK and PRK), crystalline lens extraction with and without pseudophakia, the new presbyopic surgery, etc. - A new chapter on Wavefront Guided Refraction provides information on the advantages and limitations the Hartmann-Shack Method for objective refraction plus aberrometry and the refraction and the use of in the correction of the eye with spectacles, contact lenses, and refractive surgery. - A new chapter on Patients with Ocular Pathology reflects the most current knowledge of patients with ocular pathologies. - Provides information on Optical Correction with Prosthetic Devices, including corneal onlays, stromal implants, phakic intraocular lenses, etc. - Includes new chapters and/or discussions on such topics as: Aberrations of the Eye, Refractive Consequences of Eye Pathology, Diagnosis and Treatment of Dry Eye, Diagnosis of Pathology of the Anterior Segment, Diagnosis of Glaucoma, and Diagnosis of Pathology of the Posterior Segment. - Visual Acuity chapter expanded to include the effect of refractive error on visual acuity and statistics on how much of a change in visual acuity is significant. - Objective Refraction, Corneal Topography, and Visual Field Analysis chapters include the addition of new electro-optical and computer techniques and equipment. - Chapters on Multifocal Spectacle Lenses and Contact Lenses now cover newer progressive addition lenses and contact lenses that are now on the market. - Electrodiagnosis chapter revised to take a more clinical approach.

The long-awaited second edition of an authoritative reference on electrophysiologic vision testing, including detailed information on techniques and problems, basic physiology and anatomy, theoretical concepts, and clinical findings; with extensive new material. This authoritative text is the only comprehensive reference available on electrophysiologic vision testing, offering both practical information on techniques and problems as well as basic physiology and anatomy, theoretical concepts, and clinical correlations. The second edition, of the widely used text, offers extensive new material and updated information: 65 of the 84 chapters are completely new, with the changes reflecting recent advances in the field. The book will continue to be an essential resource for practitioners and scholars from a range of disciplines within vision science. The contributions not only cover new information—important material that is likely to become more important in the next decade—but also offer a long-range perspective on the field and its remarkable development in the last century. After discussing the history and background of clinical electrophysiology, the book introduces the anatomy of the retina and principles of cell biology in the visual pathways at the molecular, physiological, and biochemical levels. It relates these new findings to the techniques and interpretations of clinical tests, including the electro-oculogram (EOG), electroretinogram (ERG), and visual evoked potentials (VEP), which are discussed in detail, as are equipment, data acquisition and analysis, principles and protocols for clinical testing, diseases and dysfunction, and animal testing. Notable additions for this edition include chapters on the origin of electroretinogram waveforms, multifocal techniques, testing in standard laboratory animals, recent advances in analysis of abnormalities in disease, and the applications of these techniques to the study of genetic abnormalities.

This book introduces the principle, main parameters, acquisition mode and operation procedure of Optical Quality Analysis System II (OQAS II) based on double-pass technology. OQAS II is increasingly used in the diagnosis and assessment of ocular diseases, especially for cataract. In this book, the clinical practice of OQAS II in the field of refractive cataract surgery is emphasized, including the preoperative/postoperative evaluation of visual quality, the timing of cataract surgery, the prediction of the visual quality after cataract surgery and doctor-patient communication. We hope the book provides a reference for the clinical application of the OQAS II in the field of cataract and helps to form the worldwide standard specification to a certain extent.