Benefit of electronic viion enhancement ytem (EVE) for the viually impaired

Purpoe To examine whether objective performance of near tak i improved with variou electronic viion enhancement ytem (EVE) compared with the ubjectʹ own optical magnifier. Deign Experimental tudy, randomized, within-patient deign. Method Thi wa a propective tudy, conducted in a hopital ophthalmology low-viion clinic. The patient population compried 70 equential viually impaired ubject. The magnifying device examined were: patientʹ optimum optical magnifier; magnification and field-of-view matched moue EVE with monitor or head-mounted diplay (HMD) viewing; and tand EVE with monitor viewing. The tak performed were: reading peed and acuity; time taken to track from one column of print to the next; follow a route map, and locate a pecific feature; and identification of pecific information from a medicine label. Reult Moue EVE with HMD viewing caued lower reading peed than tand EVE with monitor viewing (F = 38.7, P < .001). Reading with the optical magnifier wa lower than with the moue or tand EVE with monitor viewing at maller print ize (P < .05). The column location tak wa fater with the optical magnifier than with any of the EVE (F = 10.3, P < .001). The map tracking and medicine label identification tak wa lower with the moue EVE with HMD viewing than with the other magnifier (P < .01). Previou EVE experience had no effect on tak performance (P > .05), but ubject with previou optical magnifier experience were ignificantly lower at performing the medicine label identification tak with all of the EVE (P < .05). Concluion Although EVE provide objective benefit to the viually impaired in reading peed and acuity, together with ome pecific near tak, ome can be performed jut a fat uing optical magnification.