New Device Helps Visually Impaired to Drive

 
The visual aid system magnifies
the patient's visibility © University
of Granada

A team of researchers from the University of Granada in collaboration with the University of Murcia, has developed a visual aid device which significantly improves the vision of sight impaired patients; especially those suffering from pathologies with a slow progression that can eventually lead to blindness.

This platform, called SERBA (in Spanish, Reconfigurable Electric-optical System for Low Vision), is the first visual aid unit which is very useful in all circumstances and for all tasks, independently of the degree of impairment of the patient. Up to now, in the majority of cases, people with impaired vision had to acquire various different devices to meet all their needs.

The main contribution of this project is the implementation of a new optoelectronic platform which is easily reprogrammed so that it can be used in different circumstances. This device will help patients, among other things, to improve their vision when driving.

This platform, as the creator of the research explains, is based on the design of a real-time video processing system able to store several image processing algorithms. Eight patients suffering from Retinitis Pigmentosa (a visual impairment that reduces the field of vision) took part in the device’s assessment, as well as six others with different pathologies that generate a loss of sharpness of vision.

The system can be updated through the internet, so the support and travelling expenses can be reduced considerably.

This visual aid system has contributed to the creation of bioptical telescopes, anamorphic systems and inverted telescopes that magnify the patient’s visibility as it implements zoom lens effects, edge enhancement and edge multiplexing to expand the field of vision.

Moreover, a driving video game has been developed to simulate the visual aids previously mentioned. The selection of the area to magnify is supplied by a Head Tracker that the subject carries in a cap.

REHACARE.de; Source: University of Granada

- For more information on the University of Granada visit: www.ugr.es

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