The effects of blue light from digital displays on visual fatigue

With the ever-increasing viewing time of digital displays, the potential effects of blue light emitted from these displays on eye health and eye fatigue are a real concern. This study presents a literature review of six laboratory studies conducted between 2014 and 2022 on the effect of using filters to attenuate the harmful effects of blue light. The review delves into smartphone and computer screen effects, recent literature reviews on blue light, and potential hazards associated with short-wavelength light. Although the majority of the studies recommended blue light filters, only three of the six laboratory studies (Shi et al. 2021, Tu et al. 2021, Lin et al. 2017) found significant positive effects. A pilot study was conducted with six participants, focusing on the immediate effects of blue light exposure from an 18-inch screen of a laptop computer, while playing a graphic-based and a text-based game with three filter conditions, no-filter, an eyeglass filter, and a digital filter. Eye fatigue symptoms of tired eyes, sore eyes, dry eyes, and blurred vision showed a reduction of perceived ratings when blue light filters were used. Symptoms of tired eyes, and dry eyes reached a significant level of p-value ,\u3c 0.5 improvement over no filter. The digital filter, which has not been tested before for computer screens, provided a statistically significantly better rating than the eyeglass filter. While the results suggest an improvement for those using blue light filter technologies and may help to advocate for more blue light blocking technology in workplace design, the overall conclusion underscores the ongoing need for comprehensive research, considering limitations such as the small sample size of the pilot study and the absence of long-term effects research

Communication devices for the hearing impaired

None provided

MoPeDT: A Modular Head-Mounted Display Toolkit to Conduct Peripheral Vision Research

Peripheral vision plays a significant role in human perception and orientation. However, its relevance for human-computer interaction, especially head-mounted displays, has not been fully explored yet. In the past, a few specialized appliances were developed to display visual cues in the periphery, each designed for a single specific use case only. A multi-purpose headset to exclusively augment peripheral vision did not exist yet. We introduce MoPeDT: Modular Peripheral Display Toolkit, a freely available, flexible, reconfigurable, and extendable headset to conduct peripheral vision research. MoPeDT can be built with a 3D printer and off-the-shelf components. It features multiple spatially configurable near-eye display modules and full 3D tracking inside and outside the lab. With our system, researchers and designers may easily develop and prototype novel peripheral vision interaction and visualization techniques. We demonstrate the versatility of our headset with several possible applications for spatial awareness, balance, interaction, feedback, and notifications. We conducted a small study to evaluate the usability of the system. We found that participants were largely not irritated by the peripheral cues, but the headset's comfort could be further improved. We also evaluated our system based on established heuristics for human-computer interaction toolkits to show how MoPeDT adapts to changing requirements, lowers the entry barrier for peripheral vision research, and facilitates expressive power in the combination of modular building blocks.Comment: Accepted IEEE VR 2023 conference pape

Humanistic Computing: WearComp as a New Framework and Application for Intelligent Signal Processing

Humanistic computing is proposed as a new signal processing framework in which the processing apparatus is inextricably intertwined with the natural capabilities of our human body and mind. Rather than trying to emulate human intelligence, humanistic computing recognizes that the human brain is perhaps the best neural network of its kind, and that there are many new signal processing applications (within the domain of personal technologies) that can make use of this excellent but often overlooked processor. The emphasis of this paper is on personal imaging applications of humanistic computing, to take a first step toward an intelligent wearable camera system that can allow us to effortlessly capture our day-to-day experiences, help us remember and see better, provide us with personal safety through crime reduction, and facilitate new forms of communication through collective connected humanistic computing. The author’s wearable signal processing hardware, which began as a cumbersome backpackbased photographic apparatus of the 1970’s and evolved into a clothing-based apparatus in the early 1980’s, currently provides the computational power of a UNIX workstation concealed within ordinary-looking eyeglasses and clothing. Thus it may be worn continuously during all facets of ordinary day-to-day living, so that, through long-term adaptation, it begins to function as a true extension of the mind and body

Immersive Virtual Reality as an Effective Alternative to Traditional Clinical Nursing Education: An Integrative Review

Immersive Virtual Reality as an Effective Alternative to Traditional Clinical Nursing Education: An Integrative Review  Abstract  Aim: To assess the usefulness of immersive virtual reality as an effective alternative to traditional face-to-face clinical education for undergraduate nursing students.  Background:  The Covid-19 pandemic impacted nursing education to a point where change is needed in traditional curricula to meet program outcomes. Virtual Reality (VR) based simulations introduce students to clinical situations in a safe environment and therefore became an effective solution during the pandemic to enhance student learning. Due to the lack of research, regulatory bodies are hesitant to accept VR clinical hours in place of traditional hours. Design: Integrative review.  Data Sources: CINAHL Plus, Ovid Nursing Collection, MEDLINE (Ebsco), and Scopus databases, keywords, and inclusion/exclusion criteria were searched. Fourteen studies were selected for inclusion. Review Methods: Studies were appraised using the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Model (JHNEBP). Thematic analysis was used to generate emerging and recurrent themes with similar concepts.   Results: Five main themes were identified during thematic analysis: ‘improving student engagement/satisfaction’, ‘improving knowledge/skill acquisition’, ‘complementing traditional teaching/learning methods’, ‘improving clinical reasoning’, ‘barriers to implementation’. Conclusion: VR enhances learning, improves student engagement, increases knowledge retention and skill acquisition, complements other teaching methods, and augments clinical reasoning. However, further research is needed about the use of VR as an alternative to traditional nursing clinical education. Challenges of implementing this technology include cost and equipment training

Radiation Protection in an Interventional Laboratory: A Comparative Study of Australian and Saudi Arabian Hospitals

This study aimed to investigate whether the use of protection devices and attitudes of interventional professionals (including radiologists, cardiologists, vascular surgeons, medical imaging technicians and nurses) towards radiation protection will differ between Saudi Arabian and Australian hospitals. Hard copies of an anonymous survey were distributed to 10 and 6 clinical departments in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia and metropolitan hospitals in Western Australia, respectively. The overall response rate was 43 % comprising 110 Australian participants and 63 % comprising 147 Saudi participants. Analysis showed that Australian respondents differed significantly from Saudi respondents with respect to their usages of leaded glasses (p < 0.001), ceiling-suspended lead screen (p < 0.001) and lead drape suspended from the table (p < 0.001). This study indicates that the trained interventional professionals in Australia tend to adhere to benefit from having an array of tools for personal radiation protection than the corresponding group in Saudi Arabi

Convertible High Heel Design

Many women feel pain and discomfort when wearing high heels to certain events. This is a problem because it can lead to a variety of health issues. It would be beneficial and convenient if a woman could remove the heelpiece from her shoe while still wearing the same product. However, there is currently no popular high heels that can convert to a flat shoe on the market today. Our goal was to perform an in depth human factors analysis with regards to high heel use and formulate a solution to these problems. After reviewing literature, conducting a survey, and analyzing current materials used in shoe making, we proposed a solution and created a prototype that demonstrates how a heelpiece can detach from a shoe converting it into a flat. This proposed design had to be durable, convenient, and aesthetically pleasing in order to realistically expect demand for such a product. We discovered solutions that address these issues along with a viable mechanism for connecting and disconnecting the heelpiece. Further research in the manufacturing of such materials could definitely lead to the production of an exceptional product

Manufacturing and marketing of eyeglass frames and lenses

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University, 1935. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive