[What do you actually see? Visual impairments and their simulation for well-seeing subjects]

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Simulation
• Visual Perception

Background:

• Physicians often lack understanding of how patients with visual impairments perceive the world.
• Simple technical aids and simulations can bridge this knowledge gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide physicians with methods to understand the subjective experience of visual disorders.
• To illustrate various visual disturbances through simulations and case examples.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing glasses with varying optical power and light transmittance.
• Analyzing case histories and artistic representations (paintings, photographic simulations) of visual experiences.
• Including color illustrations to simulate visual disturbances.

Main Results:

• Gained insights into conditions like phantom images, reduced visual acuity, visual field loss, metamorphopsia, diplopia, dazzling, and visual agnosia.
• Explored disturbances in image fusion, depth perception, stereoscopic vision, dark adaptation, and color vision.
• Addressed age-related decline in visual functions.

Conclusions:

• Simple simulations and aids can enhance physician empathy and understanding of visual impairments.
• Artistic and technical simulations offer valuable perspectives on subjective visual experiences.
• The article provides a resource for understanding a wide range of visual disturbances.