What Are Some Low-Vision Aids And When Should They Be Considered For People With Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)?

Dr. Miller answers the question: 'When Can Low-Vision Aids Help AMD?'

By
Joan Miller, M.D., Chief of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Chair of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School
December 23, 2008, 5:52 PM ET
1 min read

Aug. 24, 2009— -- Question: What are some low-vision aids, and when should they be considered for people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD)?

Answer: There's a lot of work going on in vision rehabilitation currently, and there are vision aids that can help people with reduced vision, such as people with age-related macular degeneration. Those can range from magnifiers that are hand-held, lit magnifiers, all kinds of things that work with a computer screen, as well as devices that can scan and read out loud documents and texts for patients.

I think it probably makes sense to really be seen and evaluated by a vision rehabilitation or low-vision specialist to really figure out what will be the best option for a given patient. And I really refer a lot of patients to vision rehabilitation because I think it can be helpful even at pretty good levels of vision in macular degeneration and in other eye diseases.