Contributor Rebecca Banovic writes at Forbes (4/20, Banovic) about “a smart glove prototype called Anora” developed by Nikola Krstic, a graduate from the Electrical Engineering School in Belgrade, to help “the blind and visually impaired move unaided without a service dog or white cane.” The glove has “ultrasonic sensors that explore the surroundings: it provides vibrotactile feedback on the position of the closest obstacles in range and lets users know by a vibrating motor and voice app.” It also includes a “Panic Button” that allows the user to “send the location via text message to a guardian or friend.” So far, it “has been tested on 30 blind individuals in Serbia- and the reception has been positive.”

Medscape  (7/23, Brown, Subscription Publication) reports researchers found that people who eat “at least one orange per day have a 60% lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) 15 years later compared with those who do not eat oranges.” The findings  were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

They “report independent associations between dietary intakes of total flavonoids, and some of the common flavonoid classes (e.g., flavonols and flavanones), and AMD among older adults. Furthermore, the consumption of oranges and orange juice, one of the main foods and beverages contributing to total flavanone intake, is also likely to independently influence the risk of AMD,” the authors write.

“Bamini Gopinath, PhD, from the Center for Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology and Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Australia, and colleagues published their findings online July 6 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.”

“The researchers conducted a population-based cohort study of data from the Blue Mountains Eye Study. They included 2856 adults aged 49 years or older at baseline who provided dietary information for prevalence analyses, 2037 of whom were followed up 15 years later and were included in incidence analyses.”

“The study also may have been underpowered to detect modest associations between flavonoid intake and the development of incident AMD, as the number of participants who developed incident AMD was small.”

The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

OrCam is an intuitive wearable device with a smart camera designed to assist people who are visually impaired. OrCam gives independence and enhances quality of life. It’s a powerful low vision tool when all other options are exhausted.

OrCam is a smart camera mounted on your eye glasses and process visual input in real time. Orcam reads text on signs, books and your phone instantly. You can enter products you use everyday and it will recognize and read aloud what it is you are looking at. It even recognizes faces and announces people you know.

Inside the home, it allows users to read their morning papers and books without asking for assistance or searching for audiobooks. It reads text on computer and smartphone screens without needing to learn new software or use new tools.

This ingenious device is appropriate for all ages, and can be used with external speakers or earphones. Outside the home, it enables independence by reading at restaurants and other public places, identifying money note denominations and products pre-entered in it’s memory for shopping, and it does much more!

For a free demonstration contact:

Gabe DeLeon, Technology Sales Consultant and Training
Toll Free 1-800-770-8474 x 108
Email: gabe@adaptivetr.com

Smartphone apps technology is quickly becoming a big part of our everyday lives, and it seems as though there is an app for everything, including eye care!  Whether you own a smartphone, tablet, or smartwatch, apps that help you keep track of your healthcare needs can be extremely beneficial.  Below are descriptions of a few apps that can make your life easier.  

Mag Light App

Name: Mag Light

Cost: Free

This app is a very simple (although, very useful) magnifying glass with a light.  It operates through the device’s camera and LED light.  The user can view small objects or words with up to 5.0x magnification and can alter the light brightness.  A Pro version is available for $1.99 and offers a feature to freeze the frame, an option that is particularly useful for those with unsteady hands.  The Pro version also has a built-in photo album and allows the user to change the contrast of the image.

Amsler Grid Home Eye Test

Name: EyeCare – Amsler Grid Eye Test

Cost: Free

This simple app walks the user through an Amsler Grid test.  The Amsler Grid is a diagnostic tool used to detect visual disturbances caused by changes in the retina, particularly the macula, an area that is altered in a patient with macular degeneration.  The user follows step-by-step instructions in completing the test.  If defects are present on the grid, the user can use their finger to outline the defects’ locations.  The app also connects to the device’s photo album so the test and noted defects in the grid can be saved and reviewed with an optometrist or ophthalmologist.  

Name: LookTel Money Reader

LookTel Money Reader

Cost: $9.99

This app is useful for the visually impaired who need assistance in determining the denominations of money.  Just wave the device’s camera over the bill and the app will announce the denomination (both the numerical amount and the type of currency such as dollars or euros).  It will also display the amount in large, high-contrast font on the screen.  

These are only a few of the great apps that are available for eye care.  Some are available for both Android and iPhone, so check your operating system for availability.  They can be beneficial to a wide variety of people, and can make your life a bit easier.  As the market continues to develop, be on the lookout for many more to come!

This device has the potential for magnifying central visual acuity and holds promise for people with macular degeneration, as well as for other eye diseases which can result in decreased central vision. Low vision specialists and optometrists will be watching and following this interesting device for progress.

For more information check out:

http://www.aoa.org/news/clinical-eye-care/new-tech-holds-promise-for-low-vision-patients?sso=y

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/289504.php

They recommend careful evaluation of the most helpful accessibility features.  Although individuals will vary on what works best for them, the consensus is that some degree of both text-to-voice (also known as screen reader) and screen magnification is needed for ideal functionality.  Tablets, Apple iOS devices (iPod, iPad, iPhone), Mac computers, and Windows based computers are reviewed, as well as some of the software programs that work on them.  For the full article, go to http://wp.me/p2NcmF-g0.

Loss of vision doesn’t mean loss of learning.  Staying connected to information, family and friends is easier than ever.  Local training on devices and computers for adults and seniors can be found in Milwaukee at the technology department at Vision Forward, www.Visionforward.org , and at Adaptive Technology Resources in Grafton, Wisconsin, www.adaptivetr.com.

“Treatment was effective when administered at a very specific location beneath the retina, but importantly, also when it was administered to the center of the eye. This finding is especially encouraging because it would allow for a safer and more convenient route of administration of treatment,” said co-first author Siobhan Cashman, PhD, assistant professor in the department of ophthalmology at Tufts University School of Medicine and member of Kumar-Singh’s lab.

The current standard treatment for some forms of AMD requires an injection directly into the eye approximately every four weeks. According to Kumar-Singh, gene therapy approaches to treat AMD are especially attractive because they will allow patients to be treated less frequently, reducing patient discomfort and lowering chances of infection and other side effects associated with frequent injections into the eye.

“Prior to initiating human clinical trials, we will need to perform extensive preclinical toxicology studies. In order to advance this study to Phase I clinical trials, we have formed a partnership with Hemera Biosciences Inc. to raise private venture capital,” said Kumar-Singh. For more information, click here to view full report.