A novel, wearable, electronic visual aid to assist those with reduced peripheral vision

Ffion E Brown; Janice Sutton; Ho M Yuen; Dylan Green; Spencer Van Dorn; Terry Braun; Angela J Cree; Stephen R Russell; Andrew J Lotery

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0223755

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A novel, wearable, electronic visual aid to assist those with reduced peripheral vision

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

A novel, wearable, electronic visual aid to assist those with reduced peripheral vision

Ffion E Brown, Janice Sutton, Ho M Yuen, Dylan Green, Spencer Van Dorn, Terry Braun, Angela J Cree, Stephen R Russell and Andrew J Lotery

PloS one, Vol.14(10), pp.e0223755-e0223755

10/15/2019

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223755

PMCID: PMC6793879

PMID: 31613911

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Abstract

To determine whether visual-tactile sensory substitution utilizing the Low-vision Enhancement Optoelectronic (LEO) Belt prototype is suitable as a new visual aid for those with reduced peripheral vision by assessing mobility performance and user opinions. Sighted subjects (n = 20) and subjects with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) (n = 6) were recruited. The LEO Belt was evaluated on two cohorts: normally sighted subjects wearing goggles to artificially reduce peripheral vision to simulate stages of RP progression, and subjects with advanced visual field limitation from RP. Mobility speed and accuracy was assessed using simple mazes, with and without the LEO Belt, to determine its usefulness across disease severities and lighting conditions. Sighted subjects wearing most narrowed field goggles simulating most advanced RP had increased mobility accuracy (44% mean reduction in errors, p = 0.014) and self-reported confidence (77% mean increase, p = 0.004) when using the LEO Belt. Additionally, use of LEO doubled mobility accuracy for RP subjects with remaining visual fields between 10° and 20°. Further, in dim lighting, confidence scores for this group also doubled. By patient reported outcomes, subjects largely deemed the device comfortable (100%), easy to use (92.3%) and thought it had potential future benefit as a visual aid (96.2%). However, regardless of severity of vision loss or simulated vision loss, all subjects were slower to complete the mazes using the device. The LEO Belt improves mobility accuracy and therefore confidence in those with severely restricted peripheral vision. The LEO Belt's positive user feedback suggests it has potential to become the next generation of visual aid for visually impaired individuals. Given the novelty of this approach, we expect navigation speeds may improve with experience.

Adult

Aged

Aged, 80 and over

Case-Control Studies

Female

Humans

Locomotion

Male

Middle Aged

Retinitis Pigmentosa - physiopathology

Retinitis Pigmentosa - rehabilitation

Treatment Outcome

Visual Fields

Visually Impaired Persons - rehabilitation

Wearable Electronic Devices

Young Adult

Details

Title: Subtitle: A novel, wearable, electronic visual aid to assist those with reduced peripheral vision
Creators: Ffion E Brown - University of Southampton
Janice Sutton - University of Southampton
Ho M Yuen - University of Southampton
Dylan Green - University of Iowa
Spencer Van Dorn - University of Iowa
Terry Braun - University of Iowa
Angela J Cree - University of Southampton
Stephen R Russell - University of Iowa
Andrew J Lotery - University of Southampton
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: PloS one, Vol.14(10), pp.e0223755-e0223755
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223755
PMID: 31613911
PMCID: PMC6793879
NLM abbreviation: PLoS One
ISSN: 1932-6203
eISSN: 1932-6203
Language: English
Date published: 10/15/2019
Academic Unit: Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering; Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Record Identifier: 9984187274902771

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