Engineering Approaches to Low Vision Rehabilitation

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application is in response to NIH announcement NOT-OD-09-058: "NIH Announces the Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Competitive Revision Applications". This application is submitted under parent grant R01-EY12890 "Engineering Approaches to Low Vision Rehabilitation" .Central vision loss is the leading vision impairment, affecting millions of people worldwide. The causes include age-related macular degeneration, optic nerve diseases, and diabetic retinopathy. As curative treatment options for those eye diseases are currently limited, optical or electronic magnifiers are currently the most commonly used visual aids for reading and watching TV, etc. Because magnification inherently limits the field of view and changes eye- head and eye-hand coordination, these magnifiers are not suitable in many situations other than reading, especially for outdoor ambulatory use. We propose to develop hybrid vision-enhancement glasses based on an optical see-through head-mounted display. Controlled by users, the system employs wideband enhancement and magnification alternately in different situations. In the wideband enhancement mode, scene outlines that are precisely aligned with the scene for the viewing eyes are synthesized based on two miniature cameras mounted on the glasses, and then are superimposed over natural see- through view. This 1:1 scaled augmented view would improve visual perception, allows users to maintain unaffected eye-head and eye-hand coordination, and does not restrict their peripheral visual fields, which are critical in many daily activities. In the magnification mode used alternately with the wideband enhancement mode, a pair of liquid crystal shutters will be activated to block the see-through view to increase the visibility of magnified images. The goal of this proposed research is to extend vision enhancement from the 2-D domain to the 3-D domain, so visually impaired people can benefit from enhanced vision anywhere and anytime. In this project, a portable prototype device will be developed and then evaluated with 12 visually impaired human subjects. The device will also be used as a tool to collect objective data (e.g. snapshots of magnified images) for investigation on what objects need to be magnified and at what level, and how the two enhancement modes are used alternately. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed research may result in a marketable low vision aid. The device will extend vision enhancement from the 2-D domain (e.g. computer screen or TV) to the 3-D real world, so visually impaired people can benefit from enhanced vision anywhere and anytime and improve mobility. The evaluation study of this project will provide important feedback to the possible development of a commercial product.