CATARACT AND ARM EFFECTS ON VISUAL PERFORMANCE

视网膜相关性黄斑病变（ARM）是严重视力损害的主要原因。 老年人的残疾。从基于人口的研究来看， 据估计，超过一半的眼睛与ARM也有白内障。来 在过去的二十年中，白内障手术的进展导致了一种手术， 这是非常有效的，而且风险非常低。但是， ARM患者的手术被推迟，因为人们认为 白内障的手术量是微乎其微的， 手术并发症导致视力丧失的风险。测定 白内障手术的好处通常主要是基于视力 敏锐度但人们普遍认为，还需要考虑 白内障对患者执行基本功能的影响 与自我护理和职业需求相关的活动。大量工作 已经做了，以确定白内障手术的好处， 没有视网膜病变但我们对 白内障手术对视网膜病变患者的益处。的 该项目的总体目标是开发一套技术， 使我们能够确定白内障手术的潜在益处， 一系列的心理物理学研究计划，将 更好地表征核和皮质透镜的视觉效果 不透明白内障将被建模为空间频率依赖性 视网膜图像对比度的降低以及视网膜图像对比度的降低 照明。该模型的有效性将在患者中建立 接受常规白内障手术白内障的综合影响， ARM用于阅读、人脸识别、其他日常视觉活动，以及 健康相关的生活质量将通过以下组合进行评估： 客观的绩效测试和问卷调查。全面 将开发一组视力测试，以区分ARM患者， 白内障对ARM患者有显著的致残影响， 视觉功能不受白内障的限制。的结果 这些研究将为发展 ARM患者白内障摘除手术指南。

Age-related maculopathy (ARM) is the leading cause of severe visual impairment among older persons. From population-based studies it is estimated that over half of eyes with ARM also have cataract. Over the past two decades advances in cataract surgery have resulted in a procedure that is highly effective and involves very low risk. But frequently the surgery is postponed for ARM patients because it is felt that the benefits of removing the cataract would be minimal and outweighed by even a modest risk of vision loss due to surgical complications. The determination of the benefit of cataract surgery is usually based primarily on visual acuity. But is widely recognized that one also needs to consider the impact of the cataract on the patient's ability to perform essential activities related to self care and vocational needs. Considerable work has been done to establish the benefits of cataract surgery for patients without retinal pathology. But we still know very little about the benefits of cataract surgery in patients with retinal pathology. The overall goal of this project is to develop a set of techniques that will allow us to determine the potential benefits of cataract surgery in patients with ARM. A series of psychophysical studies is planned that will better characterize the visual effects of nuclear and cortical lens opacities. Cataracts will be modelled as a spatial-frequency dependent reduction in retinal image contrast and as a reduction in retinal illumination. The validity of this model will be established in patients undergoing routine cataract surgery. The combined effects of cataracts and ARM on reading, face recognition, other everyday visual activities, and health-related quality of life will be assessed by a combination of objective performance-based tests and questionnaires. A comprehensive battery of vision tests will be developed to differentiate ARM patients in whom cataract has a significant disabling impact from ARM patients whose visual function is not limited by the presence of cataract. The results of these studies will provide a rational basis for the development of surgical guidelines for cataract extraction in patients with ARM.