Visual Acuity Flashcards
What is visual acuity
the spatial resolving capacity of the visual system
what is clinical visual acuity
the measure of the ability of a patient to resolve fine detail
What is normal VA limited by
the anatomy of the eye
what are some factors that limit the eye
- density of the photoreceptors in the retina
- diffraction of the eye
- the eye’s optical aberrations
why is VA testing special
it is the only test done on every patient every time you see him or her
what are some important reasons you must take VA
- legal
- evaluation of visual function
- detection of visual impariment. low vision
- detection and monitoring of amblyopia
- estimation of refractive error
- detection and diagnosis of disease and necessity of intervention
- monitoring disease
what is legal blindness
the best corrected visual actuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye, or a visual field of no more than 20 degrees
what must you get for a full license in MA in ur VA
20/40 in best corrected VA in better seeing eye
what number is the snellen VA chart based on
1 min or arc
what does seeing 1 min arc mean
seeing 20/20
what is 1 degree equal to in min arc
60 min arc
what is 1 min arc equal to in sec arc
60 sec arc
what is 1 degree equal to in sec arc
3600 sec arc
what is the distance to the fovea to the optic nerve
15 degrees
what is the visual pathway
light, tear film, cornea, anterior chamber, pupil, lens, vitreous, retina, photorecptors
where does the eye have the highest resolution ability
fovea, center of macula
what are the optical limits to normal VA
- obtical aberrations
2. diffraction
what does a large pupil mean for aberrations and diffraction
lower diffraction, more aberrations
-allows more light to retina to reduce diffraction, so resultion limit is aberrations
what does a small pupil mean for aberrations and diffraction
reduced optical aberrations, resolution is limited
what is the optimal pupil size
3mm
what are the neural limits to VA
- photorecptor density and packing
- light/dark adaptations
- other neuronal processes
what is predominatnly found in the macular
cones
what are the only photoreceptors found in the fovea
cones
where are rods found
throughout the peripheral retina
where are rods most concentrated at
20 degrees from the fovea
where are cones found
macula and fovea (central retina)
what part of the eye has the highest density of photorecptors and the highest visual resolution
central retina
what is the cones at fovea theoretical limit to resolution
30 sec arc
what is the minimum resolvable letter stroke width that corresponds to snellen va of 20/10
0.5 min arc
what are the 3 conditions of vision depending on light
- photopic vision
- scotopic vision
- mesopic vision
what condition is the bright light conditions with the best VA
photopic
waht is photopic vision mediated by
cones
what is dim light conditions, night vision.
scotopic
what condition has the poorest sensitivity to dim light
photopic
what condition has the highest sensitivity for detection of a spot of light
scotopic
what is scotopic mediated by
rods
what is the sensitivity factor that the visual system alters it to see under scotopic and photopic conditions
a factor of >x10^8
how does the eye alter its sensitivity factor to light
- change pupil size
- fast regeneration of photopigment
- other neural processes
out of cones and rods which takes longer to adapt to dim light conditions
rods (30-50 min) while cones (5-10 min)
at the macula, waht is the ration between cones synapsing to 1 bipolar/ganglion cell
1:1
at the retinal periphery, what is the ration of rods to bipolar cells
many rods : 1 bipolar cell
what do the photoreceptors synapse with
bipolar and hoizontal cells