The cost varies widely by the type of product and the brand Causes of Low Vision Some of the most common visual impairments that can cause low vision include the following Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD/ARMD): AMD is a leading cause of vision loss among Americans over age 60. It accounts for nearly half of all […]

Low vision products are available only through eye care or vision rehabilitation professionals (usually called low vision professionals) who are trained in being able to determine which device is best for an end user and can then fit the device and provide training to ensure success with the product. All kind of low vision devices […]

Bioptic telescopes (also called bioptics) are small telescopes attached to a pair of glasses. They come in a variety of designs (attached to the top of a pair of glasses, drilled into the lens itself, etc.). When a user looks through the telescope at a distant object, the image is enlarged making it easier to […]

Contrast-enhancing glasses, filters, tinted filters, absorptive filters, anti-glare glasses or glare control eyewear―block a certain range of light and are available in a variety of tints, the most popular being yellow, amber, orange, plum and gray. The glasses are usually designed to fit over prescription eyewear and improve the viewer’s visual contrast making it easier […]

A spectacle microscope is a pair of glasses that has a high-powered lens on one side and a clear lens on the other side. The glasses have to be used monocularly (one eye at a time) because of convergence issues. Spectacle microscopes are typically used for reading or other near tasks because in order to […]

Closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) are now more commonly referred to as video magnifiers or electronic magnifiers and come in a variety of designs. The classic desktop magnifier can be compared to a microfiche machine often seen in a public library; an object (the film) rests under a camera and an enlarged image of it appears on […]

Low vision devices make the image of an object appear larger and easier to see on the back of the eye in order to better focus on the image. The magnification that is provided by low vision devices allows the vision impaired individual to be able to see around the scotomas (dark spots) that are […]

Low vision devices vary for the same reason a carpenter carries so many different tools: each is good for a different task. Depending on the job, a carpenter may use a hammer, a wrench or a screwdriver. Likewise, a visually impaired patient may use a magnifier to read a pill bottle, a telescope to watch […]

The device needed depends on a number of variables and varies even among people with same eye disease, which is why a low vision patient should be evaluated by a low vision specialist who can demonstrate different devices to determine which one(s) work best for that individual’s needs.

The major eye diseases and conditions for which low vision devices are used are age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, cataracts, retinitis pigmentosa, albinism, Stargardt’s disease and retinopathy of prematurity, among others.