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Low vision aids can have significant impact on reading ability, reading speed
Acta Ophthalmol. 2009;87(8):849-853.
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Low vision aids can significantly improve reading speed and reading ability in patients with age-related macular degeneration, but better overall visual acuity still correlates with better reading ability.
According to a retrospective study of 530 patients with AMD who were provided either optical visual aids or closed-circuit TV systems as a low-vision aid, the added magnification of the system helped improved words read per minute.
For the entire group of patients, mean reading speed improved from 20 ± 33 words per minute (wpm) to 72 ± 35 wpm. However, among patients with a visual acuity less than 0.1, reading speed improved from 0.4 ± 3.8 wpm to 40 ± 13 wpm compared with 20 ± 28 wpm to 84 ± 30 wpm among patients with a visual acuity score of 0.1 or better.
Still, in the study, low vision aids had a marked impact on reading ability: Only 16% of patients were able to read before receiving a low vision aid compared with 94% after.