Effect Of Reduced Visual Ability On The Identification Of Ocular Disease.

Background: This study investigated the effects that reduced visual acuity and contrast sensitivity have on the ability to discriminate subtle and distinct diseases of the eye, namely retinal diseases. By understanding the limitations of visual impairment in the optometric community, we hope our findings can be applied to the determination of a base criterion for entrance into optometric programs, which is either non-existent or arbitrary at present.
Methods: The healthy vision of optometry students, who have the educational knowledge to discriminate the subtleties of the retina, was uniformly blurred to uncover limitations in their abilities to detect retinal disease at varying levels of visual impairment.
Results: There was little difference between the subjects ability to discriminate without blur and with blurring goggles #1 (least reduced acuity), but borderline significance with goggles #3 (most reduced acuity) and a significant difference found with goggles #2. Conclusions: This demonstrates that drastically reduced acuity and contrast has an impact on detecting abnormal posterior segment images from normal posterior segment photos, this was most apparent in the more mild disease processes.