Objectives: The blind and visually disabled people form a predominant group in the disabled society and hence, need greater attention. Most of the rehabilitation therapists, especially occupational therapists, do not focus on this group. Thus, the aim of the study is to shed light on the issue of negligent attitude of rehabilitation therapists, especially occupational therapists, toward blind a...

Eyeglasses, required for functional vision by nearly half the world's population, are still needed by more than a billion people. There are a number of constraints on the provision of eyeglasses: product cost, durability, and appearance; traditional approaches to evaluating refraction; and sustainably scaling potential distribution methods. We offer our experience with an immigrant population i...

In order to effectively aid the blind with optimal low-resolution vision and visual recovery training, pathfinding and recognition tests were performed using a simulated visual prosthetic scene. Simple and complex virtual scenes were built using 3DMAX and Unity, and pixelated to three different resolutions (32 × 32, 64 × 64, and 128 × 128) for real-time pixel processing. Twenty subjects were re...

PURPOSE To understand the driving behavior of older adults, this study examines self-reported reasons for driving limitation or avoidance. DESIGN AND METHODS Baseline interviews were conducted (n = 2,046) as part of a community-based study of aging and physical performance in persons aged 55 years or older in Sonoma, California. Twenty-one medical and nonmedical reasons for limiting or avoidi...

In crowding, perception of a target is strongly deteriorated by nearby elements. Crowding is often explained by pooling models predicting that adding flankers increases crowding. In contrast, the centroid hypothesis proposes that adding flankers decreases crowding--"bigger is better." In foveal vision, we have recently shown that adding flankers can increase or decrease crowding depending on wh...

AIMS To survey level of blindness and low vision in Lebanon. METHODS A population survey was undertaken in 10,148 individuals to measure the prevalence and identify the causes of blindness in Lebanon. RESULTS The prevalence of blindness was 0.6% and that of low vision 3.9%. The major causes of blindness were cataract (41.3%) and uncorrected large refractive error (12.6%). CONCLUSION Most ...

Doctors and the public considerably underestimate the negative impact of age related macular degeneration (ARMD) on health related quality of life. (Br J Ophthalmol 2003;87:8–12) The progressive nature of ARMD prevents participation in many everyday activities, such as reading and driving, and it is also the most common cause of blindness in elderly people. A standardised questionnaire created ...