Video Magnifier Research Articles

The application of desktop video magnifier technology to Museums and Archives

Assistive technology developed for blind and partially sighted people can find wider application in the museum workplace. Ease of operation, combined with high lev- els of potential magnification and object sympathetic light sources add to the utility of desktop video magnifiers. As well as assisting in day to day paper-based office tasks, the magnifier finds application in various archival tasks and collections-based work. This equipment enhances the visitor experience of looking at archival material, both for the visually impaired and the general visitor. In particular, it helps with the study of smaller documents and photographs. It also assists in the examination of old handwriting, and in particular hand written ink script which has begun to fade with time.

Reading aids for adults with low vision.

The purpose of low-vision rehabilitation is to allow people to resume or to continue to perform daily living tasks, with reading being one of the most important. This is achieved by providing appropriate optical devices and special training in the use of residual-vision and low-vision aids, which range from simple optical magnifiers to high-magnification video magnifiers. To assess the effects of reading aids for adults with low vision. We searched CENTRAL (which contains the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group Trials Register) (The Cochrane Library 2013, Issue 1), Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid MEDLINE In-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid MEDLINE Daily, Ovid OLDMEDLINE, (January 1950 to January 2013), EMBASE (January 1980 to January 2013), Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS) (January 1982 to January 2013), OpenGrey (System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe) (www.opengrey.eu/), the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT) (www.controlled-trials.com), ClinicalTrials.gov (www.clinicaltrials.gov/) and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (www.who.int/ictrp/search/en). We did not use any date or language restrictions in the electronic searches for trials. We last searched the electronic databases on 31 January 2013. We searched the reference lists of relevant articles and used the Science Citation Index to find articles that cited the included studies and contacted investigators and manufacturers of low-vision aids. We handsearched the British Journal of Visual Impairment from 1983 to 1999 and the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness from 1976 to 1991. This review includes randomised and quasi-randomised trials in which any device or aid used for reading had been compared to another device or aid in people aged 16 or over with low vision as defined by the study investigators. At least two authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data. We included nine small studies with a cross-over-like design (181 people overall) and one study with three parallel arms (243 participants) in the review. All studies reported the primary outcome, results for reading speed.Two studies including 92 participants found moderate- or low-quality evidence suggesting that reading speed is higher with stand-mounted electronic devices or electronic devices with the camera mounted in a 'mouse' than with optical magnifiers, which in these trials were generally stand-mounted or, less frequently, hand-held magnifiers or microscopic lenses. In another study of 20 participants there was moderate-quality evidence that optical devices are better than head-mounted electronic devices (four types).There was low-quality evidence from three studies (93 participants) that reading using head-mounted electronic devices is slower than with stand-based electronic devices. The technology of electronic devices may have changed and improved since these studies were conducted.One study suggested no difference between a diffractive spectacle-mounted magnifier and either refractive (15 participants) or aplanatic (15 participants) magnifiers.One study of 10 people suggested that several overlay coloured filters were no better and possibly worse than a clear filter.A parallel-arm study including 243 participants with age-related macular degeneration found that custom or standard prism spectacles were no different from conventional reading spectacles, although the data did not allow precise estimates of performance to be made. There is insufficient evidence on the effect of different types of low-vision aids on reading performance. It would be necessary to investigate which patient characteristics predict performance with different devices, including costly electronic devices. Better-quality research should also focus on assessing sustained long-term use of each device. Authors of studies testing several devices on the same person should consider design and reporting issues related to their sequential presentation and to the cross-over-like study design.

Low vision aids: A boon

Dear Friends, It gives me great pleasure to write the last summer editorial of this Diamond Jubilee year of Indian Journal of Ophthalmology (IJO). We live in an era when technology in every field is growing exponentially. High tech gadgets have given us innumerable ways to improve our quality of life. Here, I write to you about an important but underutilized modality of vision rehabilitation using currently available options. A person with low vision is one who has permanent visual impairment with best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) less than 6/18 to perception of light or central visual field <10° because of an untreatable cause in both eyes, but who uses, or is potentially able to use, vision for the planning and/or execution of a task.[1] As it does not include patients with treatable causes (refractive errors, cataract, posterior capsular opacification, and corneal scars, clinically judged to be treatable by penetrating keratoplasty), it identifies patients who will benefit from low vision services. The leading causes of noncurable visual impairment include retinal disease (age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, hereditary dystrophies, myopic degeneration, etc.), glaucoma, other forms of optic atrophy, amblyopia, corneal disease, endophthalmitis, congenital eye anomalies, and higher visual pathway defects. As noted above, most causes are related to the aging process; hence, the numbers with visual impairment will only rise, as the trend is toward increasing life expectancy. This brings us to focus on the need to rehabilitate the ‘rehabilitative services’. According to a study, percentage of patients regaining near vision to N8 were from the age related macular degeneration (ARMD) group, followed by glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and myopic degeneration.[2] There are numerous ways to help the patient with low vision remain independent, including making things brighter (by improving illumination, controlling glare, and increasing contrast), bigger, and bolder. Using audio books, e-book reader, and text-to-speech computer software are few available technologies. Various products are available to magnify reading fonts, which includes optical (telescopes and magnifiers) and electronic devices. Optical devices, like telescopes, are used for refining distant tasks like reading blackboard, street signs, bus numbers, recognizing faces. These are available as refractive devices to be fitted on to glasses, and as hand held for monocular magnification, which, however, severely restricts the field of view. Telescopes may be rejected by many patients for cosmetic purposes and problems with spatial judgment as it makes the objects appear nearer. While others may be very happy for the clarity it offers. Magnifiers are another form of optical devices (hand held, bar, dome, fixed or variable focus stand, spectacle binoculars). These may have inbuilt illumination function. Its prime use is for near tasks like reading newspapers or books, writing and signing, viewing mobile texts, checking price tags, and much more. Spectacle magnifiers in particular provide widest field of view. Hand held magnifiers are cumbersome, as they are not hands free like their counterparts, making it difficult for patients with tremors and while doing tasks that require use of hands, like writing, etc. Electronic video magnifiers like closed-circuit TVs (CCTVs) provide distortion free viewing, a large field of view, and a very large range of magnification levels (from 2 to 70 times). Video magnifiers have an advantage over the conventional optical magnifier in being flexible in its larger field of view and greater magnification. However, it may be limited by its display size and power requirements.

Telephone Accessibility for Individuals with Dual Sensory Impairments: A Case Study

Rehabilitation efforts for children with congenital dual sensory impairments, or deaf-blindness, have a long-standing history. Rehabilitation for older people with acquired dual impairments has recently moved to center stage because of the increasing number of clients who require such services (Saunders & Echt, 2007). For both these groups of clients, service delivery follows already established pathways. However, it has been our experience that a third group of rehabilitation clients, namely, those who are affected by slowly progressive and early-onset impairments, often require individually tailored unique interventions that need to remain flexible over long periods. This Practice Report describes one such process in which a client's (and the rehabilitation agency's) rehabilitation goal was to make telephone services accessible in the presence of a progressive sensory-and-motor impairment that was due to Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) syndrome. CMT syndrome is one of the most commonly inherited neurological disorders (Garcia, 1999; see also ). Discovered in 1886 by three physicians, Jean-Martin Charcot, Pierre Marie, and Howard Henry Tooth (Charcot & Marie, 1886; Tooth, 1886), CMT affects an estimated 2.6 million people worldwide. Symptoms usually begin in late childhood or early adulthood. The neuropathy of CMT affects both motor and sensory nerves. Persons with CMT slowly lose the use of their extremities, and some lose sensory nerve function, thereby impairing their hearing and vision. CMT is caused by mutations in genes that produce proteins that are involved in the structure and function of either the peripheral nerve axon or the myelin sheath. Consequently, these nerves slowly degenerate and lose the ability to communicate with their target cells. CMT usually does not affect life expectancy, but can cause severe disability. Even though there is no cure, physical or occupational therapy or both may be beneficial. CASE STUDY Access to the dossier information was approved by the Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en readaptation de Montreal metropolitaine, the institutional ethics review board for rehabilitation agencies in the Montreal region. The person who benefited from this specific technological collaboration is John (a pseudonym), a 59-year-old man who was diagnosed with CMT syndrome at age 16. has a master's degree in English literature and is a passionate poet, which was also his main motivation for pursuing the use of assistive technology. At age 42, John was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes mellitus; he used a manual wheelchair and lived independently until age 56, at which point he moved into a long-term assisted living environment. is possibly best described with a quote from his neurologist: He leads a remarkably full and active life. His visual impairment began during high school, at which time he began to develop his current skills in the use of assistive technology, such as his video magnifier, full view AOLITE spectacles (high-power reading glasses), and large-print computer software. John also uses a large-print watch and a large-print clock. attempted to learn and use braille, but he was unsuccessful because of sensory-and-motor deficits in his hands that were related to both CMT and diabetes. At the time of this rehabilitation intervention, his visual status was OD acuity 20/1500 (6/ 420), field diameter (Octopus) 22 degrees horizontal x 25 degrees vertical; OS acuity 20/1900 (6/480), 35 degrees horizontal x 35 degrees vertical. His hearing impairment began during adolescence; he has had only perceived static noise in his left ear since age 15 and continues to experience constant binaural tinnitus. John received a cochlear implant on his left side at age 56 and on his right side at age 58, in 2010. It is unclear to what extent the vision loss is related to his Type 1 diabetes mellitus or to complications related to CMT. …

Effects of learning for linear and differential video magnifiers

This study sought to determine the learning effects of repeated practice with the traditional linear and the novel differential linear and differential non-linear magnification methods on visual inspection performance. Performance feedback of speed and accuracy and process feedback of scan paths and coverage of search area were given to subjects in order to facilitate the learning process. Objective performance in terms of speed and accuracy and subjective evaluation using the NASA Task Load Index paradigm were captured and analysed. The results showed that there were positive learning effects for the three magnification methods and the learning effects for the two differential magnification methods were greater than that for the traditional linear method. Three exponential learning curves were established for the three search tasks, which showed that search performance with the differential linear and differential non-linear magnifications would surpass the traditional linear method after four and 10 sessions of repeated practice, respectively.

Technology Q&amp;A

In this new Technology Q&A column, we seek to answer questions related to technology submitted by JVIB readers. This month's question was submitted by a teacher of students with visual impairments who wrote: is a 9-year-old in an inclusion third-grade class. She is developmentally delayed, visually impaired (20/1000), and has emotional disorders. Anna recently transferred to our school. In her old school she would not participate in braille instruction. She is reading on a first-grade level. Anna participated in a low vision exam and was prescribed a + 20 hand magnifier, + 20 ClearImage microscope, 6X30 Selsi telescope, and a very basic CCTV [closed-circuit television]. Anna likes to use her low vision aids, and has been very cooperative with training to use such a close working distance. Anna cannot read her own writing. Once she becomes comfortable in her new school she will receive instruction in braille. Her teachers have two concerns that we would like the assistive technology specialist to address. What type of CCTV should we request that would allow Anna to participate in computer activities with projection magnification? Anna is not able to see the Promethean Activboards [interactive whiteboards that connect to computers and projectors] her teachers use in the classroom. She becomes frustrated using the telescope. Does the assistive technology specialist have any suggestions? The question of what type of closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) are appropriate to use in a classroom setting is in many ways a universal one, and we hope this response will not only benefit Anna, but also provide tips for other students and those who work with them. KEY QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER A video magnifier, or CCTV system, uses a stand-mounted or handheld video camera to project a magnified image onto a video monitor, television screen, or computer monitor. Choosing the correct video magnifier involves a number of factors. When conducting an assistive technology assessment, key questions that must be answered include how much reading the student needs to do, how quickly can he or she read, and will he or she become fatigued. If the student becomes fatigued quickly while reading visually, a CCTV may not be the best answer. If she cannot keep up with the reading speed of her classmates, another method of reading may be required. Another question to ask is whether the student's eye condition is progressive. If it is, it may not be wise for the school district to invest a few thousand dollars in a video magnifier. However, the investment may still be worthwhile if there are other students in the district who could use the unit when the student in question can no longer use it. SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS One product that could help Anna is the STRIX from the Dutch company FOCI BV, distributed by Florida Reading and Vision Technology. The STRIX is a portable, handheld electronic CCTV with an adjustable angle and a 7-inch thin film transistor (TFT) display screen. A portable CCTV has the advantage of being able to be moved from place to place to accommodate various activities in the classroom and elsewhere. It has a display-freeze feature that allows you to take a temporary picture of what is on the screen, and a stand to facilitate short handwriting tasks. It also has adjustable magnification levels and various display modes. The STRIX has an auto-focus camera, can be used for reading and writing, and can be held up to magnify images across the room. The device can magnify from 4 to 22 times. In addition to its full-color (photo) mode, it displays images in high-contrast black on white (positive) and high-contrast white on black (negative) modes. The STRIX's Freeze mode freezes the image on the display screen, allowing you to save the image temporarily. …

Evaluation of practical usefulness of the video magnifier used key switches for character size control.

Evaluation of practical usefulness of the video magnifier used key switches for character size control.

An Attempt of the Gazing-Controlled Video Magnifier and its Evaluation Test

An Attempt of the Gazing-Controlled Video Magnifier and its Evaluation Test

Adaptive Video Magnifier Controlled by the Effective Eyesight of Low Vision Patients

Adaptive Video Magnifier Controlled by the Effective Eyesight of Low Vision Patients

New video-based assistive technologies for low vision

Over the past decade, electro-optical technology has evolved as an important platform for the development of contemporary assistive devices for people with low vision. Video-based devices are now commercially available in iterations corresponding to all commonly differentiated categories of optical low vision aids — hand held, stand mounted, face worn, and head borne magnifiers and telemicroscopes. With several notable exceptions, these developments are manifestations of “technology push” initiatives aimed at replicating the established functionality of conventional CCTV systems within smaller, more portable embodiments by utilizing recent innovations in sensor, display, and lighting technologies. Most of these compact video magnifiers incorporate a variable, but modest, range of magnifications combined with several contrast enhancement selections. Their major weaknesses include over-magnification, mediocre colour rendering, reduced display contrast, narrow viewing angles, aspect ration distortions, non-intuitive camera/display juxtapositions, and modestly limited fields of view. Nonetheless, these devices have been well-received by many low visioned users because they offer several unique advantages over optical magnifiers for some applications. Video devices with distance viewing capabilities are somewhat more ubiquitous. Clinical experience with these multifaceted systems provides greater insight into the full potential of video technology for low vision applications. Their theoretical potential derives from the fundamental posits of contemporary clinical analysis. “Low vision” commonly describes any untreatable condition of diminished vision that interferes with an individual's ability to perform common visual tasks such as reading. Underpinning these functional seeing disabilities is a unique assortment of measurable deficits in tested visual function. These elemental impairments often include visual acuity reductions, contrast sensitivity deficits, glare sensitivity, visual field defects, diminished scotopic or photopic function, and photo-recovery deficiencies. Optical devices invariably produce fixed levels of magnification that provide effective solutions for people with relatively specific impairments performing fairly specific seeing tasks. This approach is somewhat one-dimensional since it invokes a visual acuity solution for all impairment presentations. Video-based technology allows developers to incorporate a much broader range of enhancement options in a single low vision device. These devices produce a video-mediated reality that can be selectively tuned to redress the multifaceted visual deficiencies of most users with respect to most seeing tasks. Our experience with video telescope users reveals the utility of several novel viewing strategies that are exclusive to video device use, including innovative orientation and localization strategies that are potentiated by their zoomable user interface. Another significant performance feature of video devices is their intrinsic capacity to create readily discernable images within a wide range of hostile viewing environments. The increased availability of new video-based low vision devices poses a significant challenge for contemporary vision rehabilitation service providers, who must now resolve their integration into well-established low vision assessment protocols. The growing range and versatility of video devices establishes a viable alternative for most optical sight enhancement systems that is best evaluated using organized assessment protocols that allow assessors and users to directly compare the two intervention options.

Low-vision reading aids: reading as a pleasurable experience

Video magnifiers provide people with low vision a means to maintain a degree of independence by helping them to read and write. The design of these machines has remained essentially unchanged for 20 years, despite advances in computer technology. Designing reading aids with increased technological complexity and added functionality requires an understanding of the specific needs of this user group. The research described in this paper determines aspects that need to be considered and analyses comparative performance on a simple reading task between an existing closed circuit television video magnifier (CCTV) and a more complex low-vision reading aid, myReader, under development in New Zealand. Performance, comfort ratings and preference results suggest that myReader provides a more pleasurable reading experience than traditional CCTVs. Common error analysis highlights aspects of myReader that should be altered to improve the experience by eliminating actions that cause errors and resulting negative emotions.

Expanding the labor pool: Recruiting, hiring, and retaining workers with visual impairments

© 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ert.10050 People are still talking about “that blind man who was on Jeopardy and answered all those tough questions!” What Jeopardy fans do not know or do not remember is that the contestant, Eddie Timanus, works everyday—not as a quiz show participant, but as a sports reporter for USA Today. Sports fans discuss the performances of Marla Runyan, the first visually impaired athlete to qualify for the Olympics, and Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to scale Mount Everest. What they may not know is that both Marla and Erik had full-time teaching jobs that supported them as they trained to become worldclass athletes. These three individuals have excelled not just because of their innate abilities, but also through being productive members of the workforce. Unfortunately, the simple act of working is not a reality for many adults with visual impairments in this country. The most recent data available from the Census Bureau (1997)1 on employment rates indicate that only 31 percent of blind and 44 percent of visually impaired individuals between the ages of 21 and 64 are employed. However, when asked if they want to work, two-thirds of disabled adults without jobs indicate that they want to work. What, then, is keeping these eager-to-work adults out of the labor market? The greatest barrier to employment for people with visual impairments may well be employers’ lack of awareness concerning the abilities of blind and visually impaired people. Not understanding something tends to result in avoiding it. Most people do not understand blindness because they have never experienced it or have never met anyone who is blind or severely visually impaired. Given the low incidence of blindness in the general population, that is not surprising. Although there are estimates that as many as 10 million people in the United States are visually impaired, only 1.3 million are legally blind (meaning that they qualify for social security benefits and rehabilitation programs for people with disabilities). One might ask, “Can such people work successfully in a world where the vast majority of people are not only sighted, but rely heavily upon their sight for gathering and processing information?” The answer is a resounding, “Yes.” People without sight or with limited sight can perform almost any job imaginable. There are visually impaired lawyers, artists, architects, accountants, secretaries, customer service representatives, food-service workers, factory workers, financial analysts, teachers, medical transcriptionists, day-care workers, counselors, computer programmers, cooks, salespeople, and more. They ply their trades by using residual vision enhanced by spectacles and other optical devices, large-print documents and labels, or video magnifiers. If they have little or no residual vision, they may use computers with speech or braille output devices attached, portable speech-output PDAs,

Research on the usability design of Video Magnifier

Research on the usability design of Video Magnifier

A study of Video magnifier design

A study of Video magnifier design

Intertronics announces new range of video magnifiers

Intertronics announces new range of video magnifiers

Intertronics announces new range of video magnifiers

Intertronics announces new range of video magnifiers

A Review of Vision Technology's Vision Excel Color Video Magnifier with Computer Link

A Review of Vision Technology's Vision Excel Color Video Magnifier with Computer Link

Veteransʼ Use of Low Vision Devices for Reading

This report presents the results of a 2-year study of veterans' use of low vision devices (LVDs) which were prescribed and dispensed through the Blind Rehabilitation Centers (BRCs) and Visual Impairment Centers to Optimize Remaining Sight (VICTORS) of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Two-hundred veterans using 740 LVDs were surveyed by telephone 12 to 24 months after the prescription/dispensing of the devices. Reliability (test-retest) and validity (content, criterion-related, and construct) were established for the survey. Primary analysis of the data was accomplished through tabular presentations. Because most devices were used for reading, an exploratory data analysis was completed to further investigate successful use of LVDs for this task. Relationships of 21 variables with a definition of highly successful use, use and nonuse of LVDs for reading were evaluated. Only visual acuity provided a statistically significant predictor of use of LVDs for reading. LVDs in the lowest visual acuity grouping tend to be used either highly successfully, or fall into the nonuse category. The highly successful LVDs are primarily video magnifiers; the nonused LVDs tended to be spectacle magnifiers. This population is using devices extensively for reading, reporting frequencies of use of several times per day.

Use of the Simplified Color Video Magnifier by Young Children with Severely Impaired Vision

A new image magnifier system that enlarges color picture images for visually impaired children, consists of components of home video systems following the closed–circuit television (CCTV) model. Results of experimental use of the system are positive, and children involved show far greater interest in seeing pictures and objects than they did previously. This technique seems especially effective in enriching visual experience of chidlren with severely impaired vision and in bridging the interest development gap between picture appreciation and character reading/writing stages. Other advantages of the system are discussed.