Low vision without equipment

In the first in this series, which aims to show how advice on the use of everyday technology can make a great difference to the quality of life of our patients, I present the case of LB, a patient with glaucoma who struggles with low contrast and low light tasks. Using simple apps on her phone, she is now able to maintain a good degree of independence.

LB, a 68-year-old woman, was referred for low vision assessment having told the optometrist in her glaucoma clinic that she had difficulty with reading.

She had primary open angle glaucoma diagnosed at the age of 45. She used travoprost eye drops once daily in each eye, and reported good compliance with her glaucoma drops. She was wearing bifocals with a low hypermetropic prescription. Her visual fields showed superior arcuate loss in each eye, with no field loss in the central 10º of either eye. She had very early cataract in both eyes. Her most recent intraocular pressure readings were right 10mmHg and left 15mmHg, as measured by iCare rebound tonometry. She was not registered as sight impaired or severely sight impaired.