A Functional Scoring System to Assess the Level of Impairment in Patients with Low Vision Impairment

Abstract

Background: Low vision is referred to as visual impairment (VI) if it is not cured through surgery, drugs, spectacles or contact lenses. It interferes with day-to-day living activities and is associated with the major eye blinding diseases. Numerous tests are used to carry out diagnosis of VI, but their outcomes are unreliable. Objective: To develop a functional scoring system, for accessing the ailment of patients with VI based on observations and clinical symptoms. Methods and Findings: We prepared the list of all possible symptoms that were associated with low vision. Based on this list, we established a scoring system, Nutech Functional Score (NFS), which is a 33-point positional and directional scoring system that evaluates the patient with VI. The scores have been converted into numeric values for conducting probability based studies. All the symptoms are graded between 1 to 5 that runs in BAD → GOOD direction. Conclusion: NFS is a distinctive tool that can be used globally to evaluate the patients with low vision.