Gadgets That Help People With Blindness And With Sight Impairments

Blindness is a global problem with important socio-economic consequences that have proven effects on the quality of life of individuals, and usually impose great family-related and socio-economic losses. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, visual impairment is responsible for 3. 9% of the overall disease burden and disability-adjusted-life-year. Also, the report by the WHO in 2010 indicated that about 39 million people were blind and 285 million of the world's population suffers from vision impairment. In light of the importance of evaluating the trend and causes of visual impairment, the WHO established the Vision 2020 program in 1999 in order to eliminate preventable blindness throughout the world by 2020.

Studies show that despite reduced age-standardized prevalence rates of vision impairment and blindness in the past 20 years, cataracts are still the leading cause of visual impairment and blindness based on corrected vision, such that by the end of 2010, cataracts were responsible for 1 out of every 3 cases of blindness and one out of 6 cases of visual impairment. According to the WHO report in 2014, however, uncorrected refractive errors (myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism), with a prevalence of 43%, are the leading cause of presenting visual impairment around the world. The WHO reports also show that highest prevalence rates of visual impairment and blindness are found in developing countries, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean region, such that approximately 90% of the visually impaired live in low income countries, while European and American countries have the lowest rates. In several studies, individual socio-economic indicators, such as low income, low education levels, and low social class have been introduced as factors contributing to increased prevalence of visual impairment and blindness. Iran is a country in the Eastern Mediterranean region which considers the Vision 2020 program for eliminating preventable blindness a health priority.

Given that more than 80% of the cases of visual impairment are preventable and easily treatable, knowledge of prevalence rates of visual impairment and blindness and their main contributing factors in the country is a prerequisite of success in the field of prevention and planning for the implementation of appropriate health policies. Therefore, to date, different studies in different parts of the country, in urban or rural areas, and in different age groups or population-based studies have been conducted to determine the prevalence of visual impairment and blindness.

The use of communication technologies (e. g. , the Internet, email, video conferencing, telephone) to prevent and/or treat mental and substance use disorders has been recognized by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) as important in helping meet unaddressed treatment needs. This review covers the therapeutic use of such technologies, whether they are delivered via telephones or computers, as well as their use in supervising and training program staff members. It is not concerned with most other uses of new technologies (e. g. , electronic record keeping, computer modeling, biotechnology, social media). Although technology-assisted care (TAC) provides a number of opportunities to enhance behavioral health services, this review focuses on interventions that use technologies as a primary means of delivering services.

People with sight impairments are 50 percent more likely to be obese, according to a 2002 study using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. EelkeFolmer, the head of the Human+ Lab at the University of Nevada, Reno, has a low-cost fix to help visually impaired people exercise more effectively. He’s adapted a Parrott AR 2. 0 aerial robot — a drone — to guide blind runners around a track. They follow the whirring sound of the machine. This approach is neither expensive (the AR 2. 0 retails for about $300, though you can get a used one for as little as $225) nor technically complicated. Folmer said that the legal restrictions of drone flight have presented more of a challenge than the technological ones — they haven’t actually been able to fly it on campus yet.

Just a decade ago, the options were an array of expensive, cumbersome specialty equipment. Now the blind rely on devices that are preexisting, affordable, and often already integrated into daily life. Smartphones are the most common platform for assistive tech, with a variety of GPS and object recognition apps now available, but they are not the only devices being utilized—and technology is helping with much more than getting around.