Made by DATEXIS (Data Science and Text-based Information Systems) at Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin
Deep Learning Technology: Sebastian Arnold, Betty van Aken, Paul Grundmann, Felix A. Gers and Alexander Löser. Learning Contextualized Document Representations for Healthcare Answer Retrieval. The Web Conference 2020 (WWW'20)
Funded by The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; Grant: 01MD19013D, Smart-MD Project, Digital Technologies
Many applications for iPhone and iPad have been developed to help colorblind people to view the colors in a better way. Many applications launch a sort of simulation of colorblind vision to make normal-view people understand how the color-blinds see the world. Others allow a correction of the image grabbed from the camera with a special "daltonizer" algorithm.
The GNOME desktop environment provides colorblind accessibility using the gnome-mag and the libcolorblind software. Using a gnome applet, the user may switch a color filter on and off, choosing from a set of possible color transformations that will displace the colors in order to disambiguate them. The software enables, for instance, a colorblind person to see the numbers in the Ishihara test.
Blindness can occur in combination with such conditions as intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, hearing impairments, and epilepsy. Blindness in combination with hearing loss is known as deafblindness.
It has been estimated that over half of completely blind people have non-24-hour sleep–wake disorder, a condition in which a person's circadian rhythm, normally slightly longer than 24 hours, is not entrained (synchronized) to the light/dark cycle.
The World Health Organization estimates that 80% of visual loss is either preventable or curable with treatment. This includes cataracts, onchocerciasis, trachoma, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, uncorrected refractive errors, and some cases of childhood blindness. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that half of blindness in the United States is preventable.
Optometrists can supply colored spectacle lenses or a single red-tint contact lens to wear on the non-dominant eye, but although this may improve discrimination of some colors, it can make other colors more difficult to distinguish. A 1981 review of various studies to evaluate the effect of the X-chrom contact lens concluded that, while the lens may allow the wearer to achieve a better score on certain color vision tests, it did not correct color vision in the natural environment. A case history using the X-Chrom lens for a rod monochromat is reported and an X-Chrom manual is online.
Lenses that filter certain wavelengths of light can allow people with a cone anomaly, but not dichromacy, to see better separation of colors, especially those with classic "red/green" color blindness. They work by notching out wavelengths that strongly stimulate both red and green cones in a deuter- or protanomalous person, improving the distinction between the two cones' signals. As of 2013, sunglasses that notch out color wavelengths are available commercially.
How refractive errors are treated or managed depends upon the amount and severity of the condition. Those who possess mild amounts of refractive error may elect to leave the condition uncorrected, particularly if the patient is asymptomatic. For those who are symptomatic, glasses, contact lenses, refractive surgery, or a combination of the three are typically used.
Strategies being studied to slow worsening include adjusting working conditions, increasing the time children spend outdoors, and special types of contact lenses. In children special contact lenses appear to slow worsening of nearsightedness.
Vitamin A supplementation plays an important role, specifically vitamin A deficiency is a top causes of preventable childhood blindness. Though in measles cases, the administration of the vitamin to offset visual impairment has not been proven effective, as of yet.
is a program launched by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and is supported by the WHO in 1999 that has made controlling blindness in children a high priority.
In studies of the genetic predisposition of refractive error, there is a correlation between environmental factors and the risk of developing myopia. Myopia has been observed in individuals with visually intensive occupations. Reading has also been found to be a predictor of myopia in children. It has been reported that children with myopia spent significantly more time reading than non-myopic children who spent more time playing outdoors. Socioeconomic status and higher levels of education have also been reported to be a risk factor for myopia.
A blind spot, scotoma, is an obscuration of the visual field. A particular blind spot known as the "physiological blind spot", "blind point", or "punctum caecum" in medical literature, is the place in the visual field that corresponds to the lack of light-detecting photoreceptor cells on the optic disc of the retina where the optic nerve passes through the optic disc. Because there are no cells to detect light on the optic disc, the corresponding part of the field of vision is invisible. Some process in our brains interpolates the blind spot based on surrounding detail and information from the other eye, so we do not normally perceive the blind spot.
Although all vertebrates have this blind spot, cephalopod eyes, which are only superficially similar, do not. In them, the optic nerve approaches the receptors from behind, so it does not create a break in the retina.
The first documented observation of the phenomenon was in the 1660s by Edme Mariotte in France. At the time it was generally thought that the point at which the optic nerve entered the eye should actually be the most sensitive portion of the retina; however, Mariotte's discovery disproved this theory.
The blind spot is located about 12–15° temporally and 1.5° below the horizontal and is roughly 7.5° high and 5.5° wide.
Optic pits themselves do not need to be treated. However, patients should follow up with their eye care professional annually or even sooner if the patient notices any visual loss whatsoever. Treatment of PVD or serous retinal detachment will be necessary if either develops in a patient with an optic pit.
Controversies exist around eliminating this disorder from breeding Collies. Some veterinarians advocate only breeding dogs with no evidence of disease, but this would eliminate a large portion of potential breeding stock. Because of this, others recommend only breeding mildly affected dogs, but this would never completely eradicate the condition. Also, mild cases of choroidal hypoplasia may become pigmented and therefore undiagnosable by the age of three to seven months. If puppies are not checked for CEA before this happens, they may be mistaken for normal and bred as such. Checking for CEA by seven weeks of age can eliminate this possibility. Diagnosis is also difficult in dogs with coats of dilute color because lack of pigment in the choroid of these animals can be confused with choroidal hypoplasia. Also, because of the lack of choroidal pigment, mild choroidal hypoplasia is difficult to see, and therefore cases of CEA may be missed.
Until recently, the only way to know if a dog was a carrier was for it to produce an affected puppy. However, a genetic test for CEA became available at the beginning of 2005, developed by the Baker Institute for Animal Health, Cornell University, and administered through OptiGen. The test can determine whether a dog is affected, a carrier, or clear, and is therefore a useful tool in determining a particular dog's suitability for breeding.
Distorted vision is a symptom with several different possible causes.
Entoptic phenomena (from Greek ἐντός "within" and ὀπτικός "visual") are visual effects whose source is within the eye itself. (Occasionally, these are called entopic phenomena, which is probably a typographical mistake.)
In Helmholtz's words; "Under suitable conditions light falling on the eye may render visible certain objects within the eye itself. These perceptions are called "entoptical"."
The Fuchs spot or sometimes Forster-Fuchs' retinal spot is a degeneration of the macula in case of high myopia. It is named after the two persons who first described it: Ernst Fuchs, who described a pigmented lesion in 1901, and Forster, who described subretinal neovascularisation in 1862. The size of the spots are proportionate to the severity of the pathological myopia.
Distortion of vision refers to straight lines not appearing straight, but instead bent, crooked, or wavy. Usually this is caused by distortion of the retina itself. This distortion can herald a loss of vision in macular degeneration, so anyone with distorted vision should seek medical attention by an ophthalmologist promptly. Other conditions leading to swelling of the retina can cause this distortion, such as macular edema and central serous chorioretinopathy.
An Amsler grid can be supplied by an ophthalmologist so that the vision can be monitored for distortion in people who may be predisposed to this problem.
Tunnel vision implies that the peripheral vision, or side vision, is lost, while the central vision remains. Thus, the vision is like looking through a tunnel, or through a paper towel roll. Some disorders that can cause this include:
Glaucoma - severe glaucoma can result in loss of nearly all of the peripheral vision, with a small island of central vision remaining. Sometimes even this island of vision can be lost as well.
Retinitis pigmentosa - This is usually a hereditary disorder which can be part of numerous syndromes. It is more common in males. The peripheral retina develops pigmentary deposits, and the peripheral vision gradually becomes worse and worse. The central vision can be affected eventually as well. People with this problem may have trouble getting around in the dark. Cataract can be a complication as well. There is no known treatment for this disorder, and supplements of Vitamin A have not been proven to help.
Punctate Inner Choroidopathy - This condition is where vessels gro (( material is missing ))
Stroke - a stroke involving both sides of the visual part of the brain may wipe out nearly all of the peripheral vision. Fortunately, this is a very rare occurrence
Some examples of entoptical effects include:
- Floaters or "muscae volitantes" are slowly drifting blobs of varying size, shape, and transparency, which are particularly noticeable when viewing a bright, featureless background (such as the sky) or a point source of diffuse light very close to the eye. They are all shadow images of objects suspended just above the retina. Some may be individual red blood cells swollen due to osmotic pressure or chains of these cells stuck together and diffraction patterns can be seen around these. They may also be "coagula of the proteins of the vitreous gel, to embryonic remnants, or the condensation round the walls of Cloquet's canal". Floaters may collect over the fovea (the center of vision) and therefore be more visible when lying on your back looking upwards.
- Blue field entoptic phenomenon has the appearance of tiny bright dots moving rapidly along squiggly lines in the visual field. It is much more noticeable when viewed against a field of pure blue light and is caused by white blood cells moving in the capillaries in front of the retina. The white cells are larger than the red cells and must deform to fit. As they go through a capillary, a space opens up in front of them and red blood cells pile up behind. This makes the dots of light appear slightly elongated with dark tails.
- Haidinger's brush is a very subtle bowtie or hourglass shaped pattern that is seen when viewing a field with a component of blue light that is plane or circularly polarized and rotating with respect to the observer's eye. If the light is all blue, it will appear as a dark shadow, if the light is full spectrum, it will appear yellow. It is due to the preferential absorption of blue polarized light by pigment molecules in the fovea.
- Purkinje images are the reflections from the anterior and posterior surfaces of the cornea and the anterior and posterior surfaces of the lens. While these first four reflections are not entoptic, Becker described how light can reflect from the posterior surface of the lens and then again from the anterior surface of the cornea to focus a second image on the retina, this one much fainter and inverted. Tscherning referred to this as the sixth image (the fifth image being formed by reflections from the anterior surfaces of the lens and cornea to form an image too far in front of the retina to be visible) and noted it was much fainter and best seen with a relaxed emmetropic eye. In a dark room, with one eye closed and looking ahead with the other eye, move a light back and forth under your gaze – you should see a dimmer image moving in the opposite direction.
- The Purkinje tree is an image of the retinal blood vessels in one's own eye, first described by Purkyně in 1823. It can be seen by shining the beam of a small bright light penlight through the pupil from the periphery of a subject's vision. This results in an image of the light being focused on the periphery of the retina. Light from this spot then casts shadows of the blood vessels (which lie on top of the retina) onto unadapted portions of the retina. Normally the image of the retinal blood vessels is invisible because of adaptation. Unless the light moves, the image disappears within a second or so. If the light is moved at about 1 Hz, adaptation is defeated, and a clear image can be seen indefinitely. The vascular figure is often seen by patients during an ophthalmic examination when the doctor is using an ophthalmoscope. Another way in which the shadows of blood vessels may be seen is by holding a bright light against the eyelid at the corner of the eye. The light penetrates the eye and casts a shadow on the blood vessels as described previously. The light must be jiggled to defeat adaptation. Viewing in both cases is improved in a dark room while looking at a featureless background. This topic is discussed in more detail by Helmholtz.
- Purkinje's blue arcs are associated with the activity of the nerves sending signals from where a spot of light is focussed on the retina near the fovea to the optic disk. Look at the right edge of a small red light in a dark room with your right eye (left eye closed) after dark-accommodating your eye for about 30 seconds and you should see two faint blue arcs starting at the light and heading towards the blind spot. Look at the left edge and you will see a faint blue spike going from the light to the right.
- A phosphene is the perception of light without light actually entering the eye, for instance caused by pressure applied to the closed eyes.
A phenomenon that could be entoptical if the eyelashes are considered to be part of the eye is seeing light diffracted through the eyelashes. The phenomenon appears as one or more light disks crossed by dark blurry lines (the shadows of the lashes), each having fringes of spectral colour. The disk shape is given by the circular aperture of the pupil.
Optic pits occur equally between men and women. They are seen in roughly 1 in 10,000 eyes, and approximately 85% of optic pits are found to be unilateral (i.e. in only one eye of any affected individual). About 70% are found on the temporal side (or lateral one-half) of the optic disc. Another 20% are found centrally, while the remaining pits are located either superiorly (in the upper one-half), inferiorly (in the lower one-half), or nasally (in the medial one-half towards the nose).
A comprehensive eye examination including an ocular motility (i.e., eye movement) evaluation and an evaluation of the internal ocular structures will allow an eye doctor to accurately diagnose the exotropia. Although glasses and/or patching therapy, exercises, or prisms may reduce or help control the outward-turning eye in some children, surgery is often required.
There is a common form of exotropia known as "convergence insufficiency" that responds well to orthoptic vision therapy including exercises. This disorder is characterized by an inability of the eyes to work together when used for near viewing, such as reading. Instead of the eyes focusing together on the near object, one deviates outward.
"Consecutive exotropia" is an exotropia that arises after an initial esotropia. Most often it results from surgical overcorrection of the initial esotropia. It can be addressed with further surgery or with vision therapy; vision therapy has shown promising results if the consecutive exotropia is intermittent, alternating and of small magnitude. (Consecutive exotropia may however also spontaneously develop from esotropia, without surgery or botulinum toxin treatment.)
Because of the risks of surgery, and because about 35% of people require at least one more surgery, many people try vision therapy first. This consists of visual exercises. Although vision therapy is generally not covered by American health insurance companies, many large insurers such as Aetna have recently begun offering full or partial coverage in response to recent studies.
Strabismus surgery is sometimes recommended if the exotropia is present for more than half of each day or if the frequency is increasing over time. It is also indicated if a child has significant exotropia when reading or viewing near objects or if there is evidence that the eyes are losing their ability to work as a single unit (binocular vision). If none of these criteria are met, surgery may be postponed pending simple observation with or without some form of eyeglass and/or patching therapy. In very mild cases, there is a chance that the exotropia will diminish with time. The long-term success of surgical treatment for conditions such as intermittent exotropia is not well proven, and surgery can often result in a worsening of symptoms due to overcorrection. Evidence from the available literature suggests that unilateral surgery was more effective than bilateral surgery for individuals affected with intermittent exotropia.
The surgical procedure for the correction of exotropia involves making a small incision in the tissue covering the eye in order to reach the eye muscles. The appropriate muscles are then repositioned in order to allow the eye to move properly. The procedure is usually done under general anesthesia. Recovery time is rapid, and most people are able to resume normal activities within a few days. Following surgery, corrective eyeglasses may be needed and, in many cases, further surgery is required later to keep the eyes straight.
When a child requires surgery, the procedure is usually performed before the child attains school age. This is easier for the child and gives the eyes a better chance to work together. As with all surgery, there are some risks. However, strabismus surgery is usually a safe and effective treatment.
Photic retinopathy generally goes away on its own over time, but there is no specific treatment known to be reliable for speeding recovery. One path sometimes attempted, which has unclear results, is to treat the initial macular edema with corticosteroids.
It is known to occur in Scotch Collies (smooth and rough collies), Shetland Sheepdogs, Australian Shepherds, Border Collies, Lancashire Heelers, and Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers. Frequency is high in Collies and Shetland Sheepdogs, and low in Border Collies and NSDTRs. In the United States, incidence in the genotype of collies has been estimated to be as high as 95 percent, with a phenotypic incidence of 80 to 85 percent.
Retinoschisis involving the central part of the retina secondary to an optic disc pit was erroneously considered to be a serous retinal detachment until correctly described by Lincoff as retinoschisis. Significant visual loss may occur and following a period of observation for spontaneous resolution, treatment with temporal peripapillary laser photocoagulation followed by vitrectomy and gas injection followed by face-down positioning is very effective in treating this condition.
First signs of a Fuchs spot are distorted sight of straight lines near the fovea, which some days later turn to the typical well-circumscribed patches after absorption of haemorrhage, and a pigmented scar remains. As in macular degeneration, central sight is affected. Atrophy leads to the loss of two or more lines of the Snellen chart.
Generally speaking, people diagnosed with photic retinopathy recover visual acuity completely within two months, though more severe cases may take longer, or not see complete recovery at all.
Though no topical treatment has been proven to be effective in the treatment of Central Serous Retinopathy. Some doctors have attempted to use nonsteroidal topical medications to reduce the subretinal fluid associated with CSR. The nonsteroidal topical medications that are sometimes used to treat CSR are, Ketorolac, Diclofenac, or Bromfenac.
Spironolactone is a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has been proven to help reduce the fluid associated with Central Serous Retinopathy. In a study noted by Acta Ophthalmologica also noted that the Spironolactone improved the visual acuity over the course of 8 weeks.
Epleronone is a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has been proven to reduce the subretinal fluid that is present in Central Serous Retinopathy. This is a similar treatment to Spironolactone. In a study noted in International Journal of Ophthalmology, results showed Epleronone decreased the SRF both horizontally and vertically over time. Though after stopping the medication the fluid also appeared to return and patients needed further treatment.
Low dosage ibuprofen has been shown to quicken recovery in some cases, whilst avoiding naturally occurring blood thinners such as garlic, turmeric, cinnamon, which can enhance leakage from capillaries behind the retina.