This is a story about a library at the University of Louisiana. Offering low vision aids. Specifically something that is called a Monomouse magnifier. It looks like a mouse that hooks up to a TV. There is a camera in the flat side of the mouse that projects the image on to the TV. Its basically a CCTV built into a mouse like device. There are a few types, but they can zoom in as much as 24X.
I had the opportunity to try one of these at my local sight center. I really thought it was a great device. As compared to the Desktop Digital Magnifiers that are much more expensive and take up a lot of space. These are small, relatively cheap and very useful. I dont own one but I hope to get one soon.
I suggest taking a look at these if you have difficulty reading print.
I actually read about this technology several years ago in a wired article called Mixed Feelings. The article is extremely interesting, so much so that i re-read it today. But if you don't feel like reading the entire thing here are the parts relevant to the above video / story. First it talks about why this works.
It turns out that the tricky bit isn't the sensing. The world is full of gadgets that detect things humans cannot. The hard part is processing the input. Neuroscientists don't know enough about how the brain interprets data. The science of plugging things directly into the brain — artificial retinas or cochlear implants — remains primitive.
So here's the solution: Figure out how to change the sensory data you want into something that the human brain is already wired to accept, like touch or sight. The brain, it turns out, is dramatically more flexible than anyone previously thought, as if we had unused sensory ports just waiting for the right plug-ins. Now it's time to build them.
Then it refers to an experiment that was the predecessor to the above device.
Paul Bach-y-Rita built his first "tactile display" in the 1960s. Inspired by the plasticity he saw in his father as the older man recovered from a stroke, Bach-y-Rita wanted to prove that the brain could assimilate disparate types of information. So he installed a 20-by-20 array of metal rods in the back of an old dentist chair. The ends of the rods were the pixels — people sitting in the chairs could identify, with great accuracy, "pictures" poked into their backs; they could, in effect, see the images with their sense of touch.
The mouthpiece was the next itteration.
Having long ago abandoned the vaguely Marathon Man like dentist chair, the team now uses a mouthpiece studded with 144 tiny electrodes. It's attached by ribbon cable to a pulse generator that induces electric current against the tongue. (As a sensing organ, the tongue has a lot going for it: nerves and touch receptors packed close together and bathed in a conducting liquid, saliva.)
Here is the most relevant part.
During a long brainstorm session, they wondered whether the tongue could actually augment sight for the visually impaired. I tried the prototype; in a white-walled office strewn with spare electronics parts, Wicab neuroscientist Aimee Arnoldussen hung a plastic box the size of a brick around my neck and gave me the mouthpiece. "Some people hold it still, and some keep it moving like a lollipop," she said. "It's up to you."
Arnoldussen handed me a pair of blacked-out glasses with a tiny camera attached to the bridge. The camera was cabled to a laptop that would relay images to the mouthpiece. The look was pretty geeky, but the folks at the lab were used to it.
She turned it on. Nothing happened.
"Those buttons on the box?" she said. "They're like the volume controls for the image. You want to turn it up as high as you're comfortable."
I cranked up the voltage of the electric shocks to my tongue. It didn't feel bad, actually — like licking the leads on a really weak 9-volt battery. Arnoldussen handed me a long white foam cylinder and spun my chair toward a large black rectangle painted on the wall. "Move the foam against the black to see how it feels," she said.
I could see it. Feel it. Whatever — I could tell where the foam was. With Arnold ussen behind me carrying the laptop, I walked around the Wicab offices. I managed to avoid most walls and desks, scanning my head from side to side slowly to give myself a wider field of view, like radar. Thinking back on it, I don't remember the feeling of the electrodes on my tongue at all during my walkabout. What I remember are pictures: high-contrast images of cubicle walls and office doors, as though I'd seen them with my eyes. Tyler's group hasn't done the brain imaging studies to figure out why this is so — they don't know whether my visual cortex was processing the information from my tongue or whether some other region was doing the work.
The thing that really interests me is this "Thinking back on it, I don't remember the feeling of the electrodes on my tongue at all during my walkabout. What I remember are pictures: high-contrast images of cubicle walls and office doors, as though I'd seen them with my eyes."
Click the title for the short BBC article that accompanies the video.
So I've been using Windows 7 for over a year now, and I really like it. One improvement is the accessibility options. Though there has always been a magnifier in windows, the one in windows 7 is very useful in my opinion. here is a video demo of the magnifieer.
I tend to use the Lens feature, so i can see the entire screen and zoom in on key information.
If there is any interest I may create a video or a walk through on how I navigate and work on a PC (something I do about 16 hours a day).
I realize I'm probably late to the party but my wife accidentally turned on the zoom feature on her Iphone and it really impressed me. I'm not a huge fan of apple products but this feature alone makes me think i wouldn't mind having an Iphone.
Here is the feature demonstrated.
Here are some additional accessibility features offered on the Iphone
One thing that still bothers me is the font size in text messages. I really think this needs to be more customizable, but otherwise it seems like a very good device for those with low vision.
If you didnt read the previous post about these glasses here is a quick description from Dr. Sonsino.
He says, "The glasses combine three aspects. The first is magnificaion, the second is a little prism to allow the eyes to stay straight, instead of curving in, and the third is LED lighting."
The article describes briefely how the glasses help and who would have a need for them. They also have a website www.lowvisionreaders.com which says they are currently working on a prototype and best estimates are these will be released in summer of 2010.
Did you know google had a search page for those with low vision? It is only in its preliminary stages but it could be helpful. It responds to hot keys, magnifies the results you have selected, and beeps when you change the focus on the page.
I know it sounds obvious but reading the numbers is interesting to me. Here is the short article.
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.
Amazon has announced that they are working on a new set of features for the Kindle that should come avialable in the Summer of 2010. I wrote earlier that the Kindle DX is helpful for those who have low vision with adjustable fonts and text-to-speech. The next set of features will expand these technologies adding a extra large font size, and also audible menus. This will make the device more valuable to those with severe low vision or complete blindness.
This is a 5 megapixel digital camera with built in text to speech functionality. So you just take a picture of a page of text and the device will read all the words to you. It seems very impressive but at $1,499.00 it carries a steep price.
Here is a video demonstrating the device.
Here is Intels promo video that also shows a portable capture station for capturing large amounts of pages like books or magazines.
Here is the Press Release
Ready, Set, Read: Intel® Reader Transforms Printed Text to Spoken Word
Intel Launches Mobile Handheld Device for People with Reading-Based Disabilities, such as Dyslexia or Low-Vision, or for Those Who are Blind
* The new Intel Reader, a mobile handheld device, increases independence for people with reading-based disabilities.
* The size of a paperback book, the Intel Reader converts printed text to digital text and then reads it aloud to the user.
* The Intel Reader can help the estimated 55 million people in the U.S. who have specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia or vision problems.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 10, 2009 – Intel Corporation today announced the Intel® Reader, a mobile handheld device designed to increase independence for people who have trouble reading standard print. The Intel Reader can assist the estimated 55 million people in the U.S. who have dyslexia or other specific learning disabilities, or have vision problems such as low-vision or blindness, which makes reading printed words difficult or impossible.
The Intel Reader, about the size of a paperback book, converts printed text to digital text, and then reads it aloud to the user. Its unique design combines a high-resolution camera with the power of an Intel® Atom™ processor, allowing users to point, shoot and listen to printed text. The Intel Reader will be available in the United States through select resellers, including CTL, Don Johnston Incorporated, GTSI, Howard Technology Solutions and HumanWare.
When the Intel Reader is used together with the Intel® Portable Capture Station, large amounts of text, such as a chapter or an entire book, can be easily captured for reading later. Users will have convenient and flexible access to a variety of printed materials, helping to not only increase their freedom, but improve their productivity and efficiency at school, work and home. The Intel Reader has been endorsed by the International Dyslexia Association as an important advance in assistive technology. Additionally, Intel is working with the Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs, the Council for Exceptional Children, Lighthouse International, the National Center for Learning Disabilities and the National Federation of the Blind to help reach and address the needs of people who have difficulty reading print.
"The Intel Digital Health Group's expertise is in finding innovative technology solutions to improve quality of life," said Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Health Group. "We are proud to offer the Intel Reader as a tool for people who have trouble reading standard print so they can more easily access the information many of us take for granted every day, such as reading a job offer letter or even the menu at a restaurant."
The original concept for the Intel Reader came from Ben Foss, a researcher at Intel who was identified in elementary school as one of the estimated 20 percent of people nationwide who have symptoms of dyslexia. Throughout high school, college and graduate school, he had to depend on others to read to him or work through the slow process of getting words off of a page himself. As an adult, much of the content he wanted, from professional journals to pleasure reading, just wasn't available in audio form.
"As someone who is part of this dyslexic community, I am thrilled to be able to help level the playing field for people who, like me, do not have easy access to the printed word," Foss said. "Feelings of loneliness are often the experience of not being able to read easily. We hope to open the doors for people in these communities. The Intel Reader is a tool that can help give people with dyslexia, low-vision, blindness or other reading-based disabilities access to the resources they need to participate and be successful in school, work and life.
ABC News chicago has a piece about Amazon Kindle DX being used by those with low vision. here's the video
The Kindle has text to speech functionality for the books but not the menu's or navigation. The Font can go as high as 18pt which from the looks of the video is a good size.
This article is interesting for a few reasons. It is about Amy Bower who is an oceanographer despite having macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. One affecting her central vision, and the other her peripheral vision. The article is an inspiration for those with low vision who think they may not be able to perform a particular job. It is also a testiment to the technology avialable to help those of us with low vision.
In Amy's words
"For anyone who finds themselves in the situation I was in 25 years ago, they need to learn to become a very strong self-advocate," Bower said. "And hopefully, you want to pursue something that you're passionate about, because you're going to need the energy that comes from such a passion to push through the challenges."
Click the Title for the full article and a short video.
This story is a few days old, but it seems very interesting to me, it is a special pair of reading glasses for those with low vision. It says it improves reading ability up to 90% at close range. Here's the bulk of the article
Optometrist Jeffrey Sonsino of Vandervilt Eye Institute created Illuminated Low Vision Glasses. They combine a high-powered L-E-D light in the frame, magnifying lenses, and prism correction that prevents eye fatigue.
"Those three things together provide magnification and enhanced contrast when the patient is reading at very close distance," Sonsino says. "This doesn't cure anything, but what this does, is it allows people with the condition to function better."
In a study, the glasses improved patients' reading abilities by almost 90-percent compared to regular glasses.
Click the title for the full story and video
This really intrigued me. I did some digging about Jeffrey Sonsino, he is an optomatrist and Director of the Center for Sight Enhancement at Vanderbilt Eye Institute, located in Nashfville TN.
The glasses may just be a set of powerful reading glasses with LED lights in the frame. I found this PDF that is a brief description of the glasses. Here is an excerp
Illuminated Low Vision Glasses are portable, far less bulky, easier to use than other reading aids, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and do not need to be prescribed by a low vision specialist. Illuminated Low Vision Glasses use high powered LED lighting built into the spectacle frame, magnifying high powered lenses and prism correction to fi x the reading distance.
I tried looking for the patent but couldn't find it.
. It looks like a mouse that hooks up to a TV. There is a camera in the flat side of the mouse that projects the image on to the TV. Its basically a CCTV built into a mouse like device. There are a few types, but they can zoom in as much as 24X.
that should come avialable in the Summer of 2010. 