Visual Aids Research Articles

Comparison of As-Built Surveys Using Handheld Laser Scanner and Conventional Method

With the advent of laser scanners in general, handheld laser scanners have become a tool used by surveyors to capture point clouds. The handheld laser scanner is useful for tight and confined spaces where a terrestrial laser scanner or a human cannot enter. Many surveyors still rely on the conventional method, which involves using a distometer and measuring tape for their strata as-built surveys. This is due to the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of the equipment. However, the conventional method is highly susceptible to human errors, unlike the laser scanner, which captures all features in point clouds without human intervention. In this research, data collected from both handheld laser scanners and conventional methods are compared. The handheld laser scanner captured a total of three levels. After collecting data at the site, the GeoSLAM Hub software processed the point clouds. This software helps convert the 3D point clouds into a 2D plan, with dimensions listed for the subsequent comparison process. The comparison focuses on the X and Y dimensions of the unit, with a tolerance of ±0.1m as per the circular KPUP-1-2015-JILID-I-v2016 provided by JUPEM. Following the comparison, the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) is determined, with the lowest and highest values being 0.018m and 0.024m, respectively. In conclusion, the results show a minimum difference of 0.001m and a maximum difference of 0.049m, which falls within the provided tolerance. The handheld laser scanner offers visual aids to surveyors, enabling them to identify discrepancies' locations quickly. However, its drawback lies in the equipment's cost. Ultimately, the strata as-built plan is prepared for the three surveyed levels.

Implementation and Effectiveness of Philippine National Police (PNP) Mandatory Trainings: Their Influence to the Performance of Personnel

This study focused on the extent of implementation and level of effectiveness of mandatory trainings and their influence to the performance of PNP personnel in Panay Island for the year 2023. The descriptive design was employed with three hundred eighty-three (383) Police Officers as respondents chosen through stratified random sampling. They were classified according to their sex, rank, age, assigned unit, and years in service. The data were gathered using an adopted questionnaire that was validated by experts and tested for reliability. The statistical tools were frequency count, percentages, rank, mean, t-test, One-Way ANOVA and Pearson’s r. Results revealed that the personnel assessed the course design, course content, instructional methods, training materials, visual aids, venue, and training staff of the mandatory training were implemented to a “Very Great Extent”. In the same manner, the level of effectiveness of mandatory training as assessed by personnel when classified according to sex, rank, age, assigned unit, and years in service was “Very High”. Similarly, the performance of police personnel when classified according to age, sex, assigned unit, rank, and years in service was “Very Satisfactory”. Further, there was no significant differences in the extent of implementation of mandatory trainings as assessed by personnel when classified according to sex, age, assigned unit, and years in service, while a significant difference existed when they were classified according to rank. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in the level of effectiveness of mandatory trainings as assessed by respondents when classified according to sex, rank, area of assignment and years in service, while there is a significant difference when classified according to age. Moreover, there were no significant differences the performance of personnel when classified according to sex, rank, and years in service, while significant differences existed when classified according to age and assigned unit. Finally, the level of effectiveness of the mandatory training significantly influence the performance of personnel.

Involving the Engineering Students in Laboratory Work Through the Method of Experiment to Improve Academic Performance

Introduction. The relevance of the study of the indicated topic lies in the insufficient study of the influence of means and methods used in laboratory classes on the performance of engineering students. The problem of improving academic performance is closely related to the motivation of learning and students’ involvement in the work in the classroom. The discipline “Materials Science” is a basic discipline for the majority of engineering disciplines and allows to introduce the method of experimentation into laboratory classes to increase the involvement and, as a consequence, the performance of students of the specialities under consideration.Objective. Studying the relationship between student involvement in experimental work during classes and the level of mastering the educational program.Materials and methods. The author’s tasks in test form were used as methodological tools to assess the level of mastering the studied material. The methods of mathematical statistics were used to process the obtained data and to determine the level of learning achievement.Results. The sample consisted of 66 students from five engineering majors at Don State Technical. It has been found that the use of a demonstration experiment conducted by the teacher with explanations and visual aids during the laboratory practice has virtually no impact on the mastery of the topic. However, involving students in the stages of laboratory work leads to a statistically significant improvement in the level of mastering the subject and overall academic performance.Discussion. The developed methodology of laboratory works in the discipline “Materials Science” provides students’ involvement in the learning process and combines the practice-oriented approach with small group work. The student realizes the significance of their actions for achieving high quality of the overall result of the experiment, which leads to improved performance and supports intrinsic motivation to study the discipline. Students had the opportunity to be creative in performing the task and were given some autonomy in carrying out the experiment. It was found that when conducting laboratory works, the combination of pedagogical and andragogical approaches leads to better results than the pedagogical approach.

Visual aid for pediatric virtual musculoskeletal exams: A Barbie girl in a telehealth world.

Telehealth is rapidly advancing, yet musculoskeletal physical examinations pose a unique challenge with limited clinically tested tools. To measure whether visual aid use improves accuracy and efficiency of musculoskeletal exam maneuvers within a mock pediatric telehealth encounter. Randomized controlled trial. Mock telehealth encounter. A total of 30 volunteer dyads of children aged 4-17 years old and their parent/guardian. To be eligible to participate, the parent/guardian was required to speak and read English proficiently and have access to Zoom technology on a personal electronic device. The control group received verbal prompts to complete 12 musculoskeletal exam maneuvers. The intervention group had the addition of a Barbie (Mattel) visual aid. Primary outcomes were accuracy (number of completed maneuvers) and efficiency (total verbal prompts, total time). Secondary outcomes were ratings of comfort using telehealth technology, ease of understanding, and perceived usefulness of the visual aid. Standard multiple regression analysis was employed, with significance defined as a p value <.05. The intervention group completed an average of 11.67 ± 0.7 maneuvers versus 11.27 ± 1.0 in the control group (p = .21), 13:31 ± 4.02 total time (mm:ss) versus 14:47 ± 4:04 (p = .05), and 4.87 ± 4.4 verbal prompts versus 8.40 ± 4.6 (p = .04), respectively. The overall model of group allocation controlling for age was not statistically significant for total maneuvers (p = .255), total time (p = .061) or total verbal prompts (p = .095). However, group allocation significantly predicted total verbal prompts (p = .032), with participants in the intervention group requiring an average of 4.1 fewer prompts. All participants in the intervention group rated the visual aid as 'definitely helpful'. Visual aid use improved virtual musculoskeletal exam maneuver ease and efficiency in a pediatric population.

Telehealth Evaluation in the United States: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

The rapid expansion of telehealth services, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitates systematic evaluation to guarantee the quality, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of telehealth services and programs in the United States. While numerous evaluation frameworks have emerged, crafted by various stakeholders, their comprehensiveness is limited, and the overall state of telehealth evaluation remains unclear. The overarching goal of this scoping review is to create a comprehensive overview of telehealth evaluation, incorporating perspectives from multiple stakeholder categories. Specifically, we aim to (1) map the existing landscape of telehealth evaluation, (2) identify key concepts for evaluation, (3) synthesize existing evaluation frameworks, and (4) identify measurements and assessments considered in the United States. We will conduct this scoping review in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews and in line with the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews). This scoping review will consider documents, including reviews, reports, and white papers, published since January 1, 2019. It will focus on evaluation frameworks and associated measurements of telehealth services and programs in the US health care system, developed by telehealth stakeholders, professional organizations, and authoritative sources, excluding those developed by individual researchers, to collect data that reflect the collective expertise and consensus of experts within the respective professional group. The data extracted from selected documents will be synthesized using tools such as tables and figures. Visual aids like Venn diagrams will be used to illustrate the relationships between the evaluation frameworks from various sources. A narrative summary will be crafted to further describe how the results align with the review objectives, facilitating a comprehensive overview of the findings. This scoping review is expected to conclude by August 2024. By addressing critical gaps in telehealth evaluation, this scoping review protocol lays the foundation for a comprehensive and multistakeholder assessment of telehealth services and programs. Its findings will inform policy makers, health care providers, researchers, and other stakeholders in advancing the quality, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of telehealth in the US health care system. OSF Registries osf.io/aytus; https://osf.io/aytus. DERR1-10.2196/55209.

Co-design of a paediatric oncology medicines database (ProCure) to support complex care provision for children with a hard-to-treat cancer.

Paediatric oncologists often encounter challenges when seeking compassionate access to off-label therapies for their patients. This study employed implementation science and co-design techniques to develop the ProCure medicines database, with the goal of streamlining the application process and addressing identified barriers in paediatric oncology. This study utilised an exploratory qualitative research design. Seventeen healthcare providers, including oncologists, nurse consultants, and allied health professionals, participated in semi-structured interviews guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and a visual process map aid. Deductive qualitative data analysis, according to the CFIR constructs, identified key barriers and facilitators. Collaborative design sessions engaged multidisciplinary teams to develop the ProCure beta version. Barriers to off-label therapy access included resource-intensive applications, time sensitive decision-making, and complex pharmaceutical information. Facilitators included Drug Access Navigators, Molecular Tumour Boards, and a multi-disciplinary approach. ProCure addressed end-user needs by centralising medicines information. Additional features suggested by healthcare providers included blood-brain-barrier penetrability data and successful application examples. ProCure represents a promising solution to the challenges paediatric oncologists face in accessing off-label therapies. By centralising information, it simplifies the application process, aids decision-making, and promotes a collaborative approach to patient care. The potential of the database to stream and enhance off-label therapy access underscores its relevance in improving paediatric oncology practise. Further research and implementation efforts are warranted to assess ProCure's real-world impact and refine its features based on user feedback.

Применение наглядного средства обучения при изучении темы «Классификация животных и основные систематические группы» в школьном курсе биологии

Many sections in biology are poorly perceived by students, as this is due to the invisibility of biological phenomena and processes. Therefore, multimedia visual learning tools play an important role in teaching biology in a modern secondary school. Visual learning tools are materials that are used in the learning process to improve students’ understanding and memorization of information. With the help of visual aids, complex phenomena or processes can be clearly and clearly explained. The presence of visual materials makes the lesson more interesting and attractive, increasing the level of motivation to learn. Schoolchildren have big problems in the field of systematics, one of the reasons for this situation is the insufficient development of modern methods. The use of the visual aid “Biological rank” developed by us in the educational process in biology lessons in secondary school when studying the topic “Classification of animals and basic systematic groups” leads to an increase in the level of knowledge of students to a higher level. So, when studying the topic “Classification of animals and the main systematic groups”, 39% of students in the control group received “satisfactory” for the test task, and 14% of students in the experimental group received a “good” grade in both the control and experimental groups, 47% received “excellent” grades in the experimental group, 39%, and in the control 14%. Thus, visual aids increase the interest of students and facilitate their assimilation, therefore, the development and application of visual aids in biology lessons is necessary.

Network Traffic Virtualization Using Wireshark and Pygeoip

Security analysts possess the requisite expertise to discern various types of network traffic, detect instances of unusually high activity, and pinpoint the specific network nodes responsible. Furthermore, network traffic visualization aids users in pinpointing servers and tracking data flows, thereby enabling researchers to identify potential online threats. Leveraging Wireshark's functionalities as both a packet tracer and capture tool, the process of network analysis hinges on the selection of appropriate packet capture parameters. In this study, Wireshark serves as the cornerstone for creating a network tracking system. By employing Wireshark to capture data packets, analyze them, and subsequently translate the IP addresses into latitude and longitude coordinates, researchers can plot the source and destination IPs on a Google map. This innovative approach allows users to visualize network traffic patterns on a geographical scale and effectively monitor them.

CLIPSyntel: CLIP and LLM Synergy for Multimodal Question Summarization in Healthcare

In the era of modern healthcare, swiftly generating medical question summaries is crucial for informed and timely patient care. Despite the increasing complexity and volume of medical data, existing studies have focused solely on text-based summarization, neglecting the integration of visual information. Recognizing the untapped potential of combining textual queries with visual representations of medical conditions, we introduce the Multimodal Medical Question Summarization (MMQS) Dataset. This dataset, a major contribution of our work, pairs medical queries with visual aids, facilitating a richer and more nuanced understanding of patient needs. We also propose a framework, utilizing the power of Contrastive Language Image Pretraining(CLIP) and Large Language Models(LLMs), consisting of four modules that identify medical disorders, generate relevant context, filter medical concepts, and craft visually aware summaries. Our comprehensive framework harnesses the power of CLIP, a multimodal foundation model, and various general-purpose LLMs, comprising four main modules: the medical disorder identification module, the relevant context generation module, the context filtration module for distilling relevant medical concepts and knowledge, and finally, a general-purpose LLM to generate visually aware medical question summaries. Leveraging our MMQS dataset, we showcase how visual cues from images enhance the generation of medically nuanced summaries. This multimodal approach not only enhances the decision-making process in healthcare but also fosters a more nuanced understanding of patient queries, laying the groundwork for future research in personalized and responsive medical care. Disclaimer: The article features graphic medical imagery, a result of the subject's inherent requirements.

Use of teaching props to improve mathematics learning outcomes in number pattern material in STEM village Yogyakarta

Since mathematics is an abstract discipline, context is necessary to understand it when learning. This pilot study at SDN 1 Kentungan, a "STEM Village" in Joho Village, Yogyakarta, aims to determine the impact of stick-board teaching aids on second-grade students' mathematics learning results in the domain of number patterns. The devices used for collecting data include pre- and posttests, interview sheets, observation sheets, and other methods. Meanwhile, the small set of test participants consisted of two class II students from SD N 1 Kentungan who attended the STEM Village in Kampung, Joho. The conclusions of this descriptive study show the following: (1) the way teaching tools are used affects how number patterns are taught to primary school pupils; when instructional aids are utilized to assist students in learning a subject more easily and contextually, they are guided by more than just formulas. (2) Students perform better on their pretest and posttest. (3) Students' understanding improves after using visual aids compared to before using them. (4) Students become more curious and engaged in the learning process. The results of the study suggest that class II students at SDN 1 Kentungan benefit from the use of instructional aids, which are regarded as effective and well-done.

The Birth of the Contextual Health Education Readability Score in an Examination of Online Influenza Patient Education Materials.

Introduction Influenza is a major global health concern, with its rapid spread and mutation rate posing significant challenges in public health education and communication. Effective patient education materials (PEMs) are crucial for informed decision-making and improved health outcomes. This study evaluates the efficacy of online influenza PEMs using traditional readability tools and introduces the Contextual Health Education Readability Score (CHERS) to address the limitations of existing methods that do not capture the diverse array of visual and thematic means displayed. Materials and methods A comprehensive search was conducted to select relevant online influenza PEMs. This involved looking through Google's first two pages of results sorted by relevance, for a total of 20 results. These materials were evaluated using established readability tools (e.g., Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level) and the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) for understandability and actionability. The study also involved the creation of CHERS, integrating factors such as semantic complexity, cultural relevance, and visual aid effectiveness. The development of CHERS included weighting each component based on its impact on readability and comprehension. Results The traditional readability tools demonstrated significant variability in the readability of the selected materials. The PEMAT analysis revealed general trends toward clarity in purpose and use of everyday language but indicated a need for improvement in summaries and visual aids.The CHERS formula was calculated as follows: CHERS = (0.4 × Average Sentence Length) + (0.3 × Average Syllables per Word) + (0.15 × Semantic Complexity Score) + (0.1 × Cultural Relevance Score) + (0.05 × Visual Aid Effectiveness Score), integrating multiple dimensions beyond traditional readability metrics. Discussion The study highlighted the limitations of traditional readability tools in assessing the complexity and cultural relevance of health information. The introduction of CHERS addressed these gaps by incorporating additional dimensions crucial for understanding in a healthcare context. The recommendations provided for creating effective influenza PEMs focused on language simplicity, cultural sensitivity, and actionability. This may enable further research into evaluating current PEMs and clarifying means of creating more effective content in the future. Conclusions The study underscores the need for comprehensive readability assessments in PEMs. The creation of CHERS marks a significant advancement in this field, providing a more holistic approach to evaluating health literacy materials. Its application could lead to the development of more inclusive and effective educational content, thereby improving public health outcomes and reducing the global burden of influenza. Future research should focus on further validating CHERS and exploring its applicability to other health conditions.

The Effect of UMP Phantom Antenatal Care (ANC) Innovation on Leopold Examination Knowledge and Skills in Students at SMK Muhammadiyah 3 Purwokerto

Background: Knowledge and skills are competencies that Nursing Assistant Vocational High School students must possess to create competent graduates. One of those knowledge and skills is the Antenatal Care (ANC) examination. The inadequate facilities and infrastructure at SMK can disrupt the learning process. The application of learning media can influence the learning process. The limited number of teaching aids can be an inhibiting factor in practical learning. The phantom innovation of antenatal care is a visual aid that resembles the body shape of pregnant women used for Leopold examinations. Method: The research method used Quasi Experiment using a posttest-only control group design approach. The population in this study were students of nursing assistants in XI and XII Grades at SMK Muhammadiyah 3 Purwokerto. The sample in this study amounted to 52 people. The sampling technique used was the total sampling technique. The data analysis used was univariate and bivariate analysis with the Mann-Whitney test. Results: The results showed that there is an influence of the Phantom ANC UMP innovation on the respondents Leopold examination knowledge and skills obtained from statistical test result the asymp sig value. (2-tailed) knowledge 0.00 and asymp value sig. (2-tailed) skill 0.01 which means the p value &lt;0.05. Conclusion: The student's knowledge and skills regarding Leopold's examination were higher in the group using Phantom ANC UMP media than in the group using powerpoint media.

Biodesign: An Innovative Technology for Sustainable Development Goals in Health and Environment

Biodesign is a tool that integrates diverse fields of biology with design for the development of a good lifestyle and, sustainable environment along with futuristic support to the society and ecosystem. Using the approach, Identify-Invent-Implement, the biodesigners identify and unravel the unmet needs of society in the field of healthcare, environment, and architecture sectors by developing novel products and improving technologies with the incorporation of design into it. With evolving technology, biodesign has created an impact globally in the ecology by preventing the ecological imbalance, creating an impact on the psychological behaviour of humans by boosting their confidence and thus influencing one’s behaviour. Biodesign crossed various technological barriers by developing devices such as hearing, and vision aids, prosthetics, implants, and eco-friendly cements and also used microorganisms to enhance the quality of the bricks. Biodesign has crossed the limits of earth curvature and reached space by innovation like future space colonization and protecting indigenous species.

ANALYZING TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR ENGLISH READING IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AMID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light numerous challenges in the field of English language learning, including the need for strict adherence to health protocols like school closures, mask mandates, and frequent handwashing. This period required a swift adaptation to blended learning, fostering critical and creative thinking to address COVID-19 issues. This study aims to investigate various strategies utilized by English teachers to enhance reading skills amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic. Transcription data were gathered through observational methods and interviews involving three participants – one teacher and two students. Grounded theory was employed for data analysis, revealing eight strategies for improving students' reading abilities. These strategies include utilizing E-learning (WhatsApp) as a platform for delivering reading materials, employing visual aids like PPT presentations and YouTube videos to illustrate texts, identifying and marking challenging vocabulary in PDF texts, translating sentences using online tools (Google Translate), facilitating oral reading through WhatsApp's voice-notes feature, assigning reading tasks on specific websites or PDFs, engaging in Q&amp;A discussions on WhatsApp, and conducting project discussions via virtual platforms like WhatsApp and Google Meet. This study contributes to the understanding of reading teaching practices for junior high students during the COVID-19 pandemic, thus expanding the knowledge of strategies employed by teachers in the teaching of reading.

Arabic Web-Based Information on Oral Lichen Planus: Content Analysis.

The use of web-based health information (WBHI) is on the rise, serving as a valuable tool for educating the public about health concerns and enhancing treatment adherence. Consequently, evaluating the availability and quality of context-specific WBHI is crucial to tackle disparities in health literacy and advance population health outcomes. This study aims to explore and assess the quality of the WBHI available and accessible to the public on oral lichen planus (OLP) in Arabic. The Arabic translation of the term OLP and its derivatives were searched in three general search platforms, and each platform's first few hundred results were reviewed for inclusion. We excluded content related to cutaneous LP, content not readily accessible to the public (eg, requiring subscription fees or directed to health care providers), and content not created by health care providers or organizations (ie, community forums, blogs, and social media). We assessed the quality of the Arabic WBHI with three standardized and validated tools: DISCERN, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks, and Health On the Net (HON). Of the 911 resources of WBHI reviewed for eligibility, 49 were included in this study. Most WBHI resources were provided by commercial affiliations (n=28, 57.1%), with the remainder from academic or not-for-profit affiliations. WBHI were often presented with visual aids (ie, images; n=33, 67.4%). DISCERN scores were highest for WBHI resources that explicitly stated their aim, while the lowest scores were for providing the effect of OLP (or OLP treatment) on the quality of life. One-quarter of the resources (n=11, 22.4%) met all 4 JAMA benchmarks, indicating the high quality of the WBHI, while the remainder of the WBHI failed to meet one or more of the JAMA benchmarks. HON scores showed that one-third of WBHI sources had scores above 75%, indicating higher reliability and credibility of the WBHI source, while one-fifth of the sources scored below 50%. Only 1 in 7 WBHI resources scored simultaneously high on all three quality instruments. Generally, WBHI from academic affiliations had higher quality scores than content provided by commercial affiliations. There are considerable variations in the quality of WBHI on OLP in Arabic. Most WBHI resources were deemed to be of moderate quality at best. Providers of WBHI could benefit from increasing collaboration between commercial and academic institutions in creating WBHI and integrating guidance from international quality assessment tools to improve the quality and, hopefully, the utility of these valuable WBHI resources.

SOME SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE ENGLISH PRESENTATION SKILL FOR THE 3RD- YEAR- STUDENTS OF FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES- HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION

Presentation is one of the most important skills for language learners and other professions in general. To make a successful and effective presentation, students need to practice many language skills and master public speaking skills. This research was conducted by asking survey questions and interviews to find out students' attitudes toward presentation skills, the difficulties students encounter and suggest methods to help students present more effectively and confidently in order to have good results in studying and effectiveness in future work. Because the implementation time is limited and the FFL, UTEHY has different training facilities, we only conducted research on the 3rd year English major students in My Hao campus. From the above difficulties and challenges that students are facing, we offer suggestions to help students make better presentations such as improving vocabulary, developing an attractive and coherent topic, mastering speaking speed and voice, using body languages naturally and exploiting visual aid from power point, mind map, posters, painting etc.

The use of continuous visual aid in the Best–Worst Method: an experiment with organic farmers in Paraguay

The use of continuous visual aid in the Best–Worst Method: an experiment with organic farmers in Paraguay

Predictive Modeling of Seismic Events: A Comparative Analysis Of K-Nearest Neighbors and Random Forest Algorithms

This study processes and predicts seismic data using data visualization approaches, K-nearest neighbors (KNN) and the random forest (RF) algorithms. The analysis's dataset includes a number of variables connected to earthquakes. The primary goal is to devise a forecast algorithm capable of accurately categorizing seismic events, data visualization tools are utilized to gain insights into the dataset, producing informative charts that depict the distribution and correlations among different variables. This visual evaluation aids in pinpointing anomalies or trends, facilitating a deeper understanding of the data's characteristics and guiding decisions during the modeling phase. Subsequently, the KNN method classifies earthquake occurrences based on their attributes, predicting the class label by considering the characteristics of its nearest neighbors. Additionally, Accurate classification of seismic events is enhanced by using RF, an ensemble learning technique that combines many decision trees to produce predictions. To optimize outcomes, the study adjusts the random forest model's hyperparameters through cross-validation. The study compares the performance of KNN and RF using a confusion matrix. The confusion matrix shows a thorough insight of categorization performance, which provides a comprehensive view of categorization efficacy. This assessment underscores the models' precision and effectiveness in classifying seismic events.

Group Classification for the Search and Identification of Related Patterns Using a Variety of Multivariate Techniques

Recently, many methods and algorithms have been developed that can be quickly adapted to different situations within a population of interest, especially in the health sector. Success has been achieved by generating better models and higher-quality results to facilitate decision making, as well as to propose new diagnostic procedures and treatments adapted to each patient. These models can also improve people’s quality of life, dissuade bad health habits, reinforce good habits, and modify the pre-existing ones. In this sense, the objective of this study was to apply supervised and unsupervised classification techniques, where the clustering algorithm was the key factor for grouping. This led to the development of three optimal groups of clinical pattern based on their characteristics. The supervised classification methods used in this study were Correspondence (CA) and Decision Trees (DT), which served as visual aids to identify the possible groups. At the same time, they were used as exploratory mechanisms to confirm the results for the existing information, which enhanced the value of the final results. In conclusion, this multi-technique approach was found to be a feasible method that can be used in different situations when there are sufficient data. It was thus necessary to reduce the dimensional space, provide missing values for high-quality information, and apply classification models to search for patterns in the clinical profiles, with a view to grouping the patients efficiently and accurately so that the clinical results can be applied in other research studies.

An Optically Augmented Visual Aid for Individuals with Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Normal vision is a precious gift to mankind. Any vision defect or degradation is actually an intimidating problem for individuals and societies. Therefore, researchers are continually working to find effective solutions for vision disorders. In some retinal diseases such as Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), visual aids are required to improve vision ability and/or stop the progress of the disease. Recently, augmented vision techniques have been used to provide aid to people suffering from retinal impairment. However, in such techniques, the images of real scenes are electronically deformed to compensate for vision impairment. Therefore, the natural scene is displayed as an electronic image on glasses. Intuitively, it is annoying to the patient to see electronic rather than natural scenes. Moreover, these visual aids are bulky and produce electric fields that might be harmful with continuous use. In this work, a novel optical solution to provide a visual aid to patients with central vision loss has been proposed. The proposed optical solution deforms the wavefront of the scene to entirely fall on the healthy parts of the retina. This, in turn, conveys all scene information to the brain to be perceived by the patient. As it provides optical processing, the proposed solution overcomes all drawbacks of the electronic solutions. To prove the validity of the proposed solution, three lenses were designed, fabricated, and tested to visualize simple shapes, reading, and obtaining aid during walking and driving. Obtaining the expected results from these tests, they were tried by three volunteers to clinically prove the validity and feasibility of the proposed optical aid. The feedback from the three patients was promising since all of them could recognize some of the details they used to miss with at least one of the lenses.