The Assessment of Visual Function and Functional Vision

Abstract

The complete assessment of vision-related abilities should consider visual function (the performance of components of the visual system) and functional vision (visual task-related ability). Assessment methods are highly dependent upon individual characteristics (eg, the presence and type of visual impairment). Typical visual function tests assess factors such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, color, depth, and motion perception. These properties each represent an aspect of visual function and may impact an individual's level of functional vision. The goal of any functional vision assessment should be to measure the visual task-related ability under real-world scenarios. Recent technological advancements such as virtual reality can provide new opportunities to improve traditional vision assessments by providing novel objective and ecologically valid measurements of performance, and allowing for the investigation of their neural basis. In this review, visual function and functional vision evaluation approaches are discussed in the context of traditional and novel acquisition methods.