Enhanced visual experiences and seeing hardware for reduced vision: a pilot study.
BACKGROUND
Persons with vision loss may have limited ability to experience visual arts and difficulty navigating unfamiliar environments. The Center for Advanced Visual Studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a Retinal Imaging Machine Vision System (RIMVS) "seeing machine" to project "word-images" onto the retina and permit navigation through virtual architectural environments.


METHODS
Ten subjects with visual acuity < or = 20/70 in the better-seeing eye were recruited. Subjects viewed word-images that were projected on the retina of the better-seeing eye and asked to interpret the images. Subsequently, they were asked to recall as many images as possible. Participants also practiced navigation through a computer-modeled building that was projected onto the retina. A survey elicited subject response to the RIMVS.


RESULTS
Six subjects correctly interpreted all 10 word-images; no subject interpreted fewer than 8 correctly. Seven subjects felt that the word images afforded easy recall, and 7 subjects responded that the technology might assist subsequent navigation in unfamiliar environments.


CONCLUSIONS
Responses reflect a general interest and potential with the RIMVS. Further studies are warranted to explore the value of the RIMVS as a tool to enable visually compromised persons to experience and appreciate visual arts and as a navigation aid.
Center for Advanced Visual Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Elizabeth
E
Goldring
James
J
Cain
Kent
K
Larson
Lindsay
L
Price
Lisa
L
Smith
Shima
S
Rayej
Jerry
J
Cavallerano
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001296:Audiovisual Aids; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D014787:Vision Tests / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015354:Vision, Low / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*