ICO Visual Sciences case studies
ICO Visual Sciences · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The ICO Visual Sciences Examination is a standardized, multiple-choice test of the basic and clinical science underpinning ophthalmology, administered within the International Council of Ophthalmology's assessment programme. It is aimed at trainees who have completed foundational ophthalmology training and want an external, internationally benchmarked check of their grasp of visual science before or alongside clinical specialty examinations. It is also used by residency programmes and national boards as an external reference point. The exam samples ten domains: optics and refraction, physiological optics and visual perception, anatomy and histology, ocular physiology and biochemistry, retina and visual neuroscience, motility and binocular vision, pharmacology and toxicology, microbiology and immunology, pathology and genetics, and clinical visual sciences and diagnostic testing. The ICO Visual Sciences case studies are 5 cases and about 3,018 words.
1High Myope, New Frame, and a Tight Vertex Distance
Marcus, 29, works 10-hour days in front of a trading screen and plays competitive basketball twice weekly. His current spectacles, worn at a 13 mm vertex distance, are OD -9.75 DS and OS -9.25 -1.00 x 175.
770 words, about 4 min2Conjunctivalization After an Alkaline Burn: Stem Cells, Not Just Surface Healing
A 34-year-old mechanic sustains a right-eye splash of alkaline battery fluid with a measured pH of 12.4. He irrigates for 20 minutes at the workplace and reaches the emergency department 90 minutes later.
634 words, about 3 min3New Metamorphopsia in a Fellow Eye With Dry AMD
A 66-year-old retired teacher presents with a 5-day history of new metamorphopsia in the left eye. The right eye has known dry age-related macular degeneration with many intermediate drusen.
554 words, about 3 min4Hydroxychloroquine Retinopathy With a Normal 24-2 Field
A 63-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis has taken hydroxychloroquine 400 mg daily for 8 years. She reports trouble reading in dim light and "brownish" central vision.
509 words, about 3 min5A Glaucoma Suspect With Red OCT Sectors and a High-Myopia Warning
A 55-year-old software manager is referred as a glaucoma suspect. IOP is 24 mmHg OD and 23 mmHg OS; central corneal thickness is 540 micrometres in each eye.
551 words, about 3 min