Enhancing decreased sight of patients with traumatic brain injury.

Vision loss is often a complication of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). To maximize rehabilitation of a person with a TBI, the professionals who coordinate and carry out therapeutic activities should be aware of the impact impaired vision can have on over all processing. This article will address how the low vision examination and treatment process can be an invaluable adjunct to a rehabilitative therapy program.

Use of spectacle mounted telescope systems by the visually impaired.

BACKGROUND: Spectacle mounted telescope low vision aids are designed to magnify objects Spectacle telescopes are often rejected by the visually impaired because of their unusual cosmetic appearance which may call attention to their disability. METHODS: Fifty-six subjects were recruited at four independent low vision clinics and divided into two categories: 24 were current wearers of expanded field spectacle mounted telescope systems, and 32 were new wearers. New wearers underwent a randomized cross-over trial, comparing the experimental device (Ocutech VES) to one of two controls (DFV Expanded Field or Walter's Keplarian Close-focus Telescope). RESULTS: Our data show that previous telescope wearers increased their use of telescopes after introduction of the experimental device (Ocutech VES) and there was an equivalent utilization rate for new wearers. CONCLUSIONS: Visual activity patterns are not a sensitive measure of telescope benefit, but frequency of use patterns do change and appear to demonstrate a valid benefit of spectacle mounted telescopes for the visually impaired.