A new study from the UC Davis Health System has found a miniature camera mounted onto eyeglasses could offer increased independence to those with low vision.
The camera — called the OrCam — reportedly uses optical character-recognition technology, which allows it to recognize text and read it to the user via an earpiece. It can also be programmed to recognize faces and commercial products.
The study consisted of 12 men and women with low vision who initially could not perform five of 10 tasks including reading a message on an electronic device, a page from a book, a newspaper article, or a restaurant menu. Some also had trouble recognizing paper money denominations or reading wall-mounted signs. After a week with the device, researchers found all participants were able to perform nine of the 10 tasks with only one participant reporting a technical difficulty.
The study was recently published online in JAMA Ophthalmology.
Photo courtesy The JAMA Network® © 2016 American Medical Association
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Source: UC Davis Health System