State-of-the-art: low vision rehabilitation

Abstract

The State of the Art is strong - to paraphrase another famous saying. Low vision rehabilitation (LVR) is today a recognized discipline in Ophthalmology, expanding and improving the quality of life of numerous visually impaired patients. It was not so about a century ago when it all started. Then, charity work aimed at helping blind children was all that LVR was. With advances in science, medicine and public health policy, help for the blind expanded its reach to all who were visually impaired. Devices and re-training of skills have been added to complement diagnosis and charity work. Modern LVR, which took hold in the last few decades, was propelled to new heights by relentless advances in basic and clinical sciences. Today we can provide significant and meaningful help to visually impaired patients in most situations. It could be as simple as a hand magnifier or as intricate as a retinal prosthesis. In many instances it seems to be just a beginning for things still to come.