Telescopes

Telescopic Glasses

Telescopic glasses are used to help patients with impaired vision see distance objects better. They are helpful for macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, and many other conditions that cause damage to the central vision. California and many states allow drivers to use telescopes when they are prescribed by a low vision doctor. In addition to driving telescopes are used to help patients recognize faces at a greater distance, while watching sporting events or live theatre performances. They can also be used for watching TV and for the computer.

Their appearance is a little unusual. I tell my patients “I’m going to help you see but you’re going to have the most unusual glasses your friends have ever seen.”

Full Field and Wide Field Telescope Glasses

These types of glasses are typically used to improve distance vision such as watching TV, looking at sporting events or sometimes for specific tasks. Typically you don’t move around a lot when wearing this type of telescope as the field of view can be restrictive.

Bioptic Telescopes

Bioptic telescopes are mounted near the top of the eyeglass lenses allowing the person to look below the telescopes through their regular eyeglass prescription. We call this the carrier lens. The telescopes are used to spot signs, recognize addresses, and identify distance objects. Because the everyday horizontal and straight forward vision is not affected they can be used for driving and other specialized tasks. To use the telescope the person lowers their chin slightly allowing them to look through the telescopes.