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

Abstract

PurposeTo 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.MethodsSighted 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.ResultsSighted 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.ConclusionsThe 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.

A Systematic Review of Wearable Devices for Orientation and Mobility of Adults With Visual Impairment and Blindness

“…Wang et al [72] developed an all-textile flexible airflow sensor that could be integrated into clothing to alert blind people walking outdoors about nearby fast-moving objects. Stereo camera [31], [43], [52], [61], [66], [68], [74], [78] RealSense [28], [29], [52], [73], [75], [76] USB camera/webcam [12], [37], [45], [51] High-sensitivity camera [40], [41] CMOS sensor [41] Micro camera [32], [47] Smartphone camera [54], [64] Camera with infrared LEDs [30] Marker camera [48] Camera (not specified) [34], [35], [39], [57] Temperature sensor [67] Water sensor [70], [71] Wet floor sensor [13] [71] No [13], [67], [70] No Ambient light sensor [79] Attitude sensor [73] Gravity sensor [79] Proximity sensor [79] No [73] [79] No…”

“…• Test in indoor and outdoor scenarios [28], [29] • Test with a larger sample of users [31], [36], [42], [76] • Provide more intensive training protocol [57], [67]…”

The MAPS: Toward a Novel Mobility Assistance System for Visually Impaired People

“…Some prototypes are designed using a vibrotactile system [ 31 , 32 , 33 ] or a commercially available Sunu Band ( , accessed on 23 April 2022), to enhance the peripheral visual detection of the VIP. They transfer only the information of obstacles to a vibration motor (distance, orientation, elevation).…”

Furthering Visual Accessibility with Extended Reality (XR): A Systematic Review

“…With the advent of wearable XR technology, research now includes modern designs of HMD systems using AR, VR or some combination of the two [3,11,62,96]. Popular AR devices in our corpus of papers include the Microsoft HoloLens (e.g., [53,91]), Epson-Moverio BT-200 (e.g., [4,117]), and the now discontinued Google Glass (e.g.…”