The Roles and Effects of Diplopia and Visual Confusion in the Treatment of Visual Field Loss (abstract)

Misalignment of the eyes results in double vision. It isimportant to recognize the two coexisting components of double vision: diplopia (seeing the same object in two different directions) and binocular confusion (seeing two different objects in the same direction). Patients primarily report the diplopia rather than the binocular confusion; this may be a result of the statistics of natural images. One reason clinicians should be aware of binocular confusion is that it is the main tool used for prismatic expansion of visual fields in cases of field loss. With visual field loss alone, and with use of partial prism segments for field expansion, the two phenomena may be separable: diplopia without confusion, and confusion without diplopia. The roles both play in vision rehabilitation will be explained for common and rare conditions. Understanding this separability offers new insights into binocular function that should lead to better rehabilitation techniques and individual patient care.