Contact lenses for color blindness

Color vision deficiency (color blindness) is an inherited genetic ocular disorder. While no cure for this disorder currently exists, several methods can be used to increase the color perception of those affected. One such method is the use of color filtering glasses which are based on Bragg filters. While these glasses are effective, they are high cost, bulky, and incompatible with other vision correction eyeglasses. In this work, a rhodamine derivative is incorporated in commercial contact lenses to filter out the specific wavelength bands (≈545–575 nm) to correct color vision blindness. The biocompatibility assessment of the dyed contact lenses in human corneal fibroblasts and human corneal epithelial cells shows no toxicity and cell viability remains at 99% after 72 h. This study demonstrates the potential of the dyed contact lenses in wavelength filtering and color vision deficiency management

Acromatopsia e trattamento con lenti a contatto

SCOPO: Lo scopo di questo lavoro è analizzare come l'utilizzo di lenti a contatto filtranti possa migliorare la vita dei soggetti affetti da disturbi della visione del colore, specialmente in età prescolari e scolastiche. METODO: Si è effettuato il test dell’abbagliamento su otto soggetti affetti da acromatopsia con e senza il porto di lenti a contatto filtranti ChromaGenTM. Tale risultato è stato poi confrontato con quelli ottenuti da altri sedici soggetti privi di alcun deficit legato alla visione del colore. RISULTATI: Il test di recupero dall’abbagliamento sugli 8 soggetti acromati, privi di lenti a contatto filtrate non ha fornito nessuna risposta entro il tempo massimo di 60 secondi, mentre con le lenti a contatto, ha dato come risultato un tempo di recupero medio di circa 17 secondi, risultato simile a quello di persone con normale percezione dei colori. CONCLUSIONI: le lenti a contatto colorate hanno completamente cambiato la vita dei soggetti acromati considerati. Esse, non solo consentono loro di limitare i sintomi, ma migliorano anche il loro stile di vita, riducendo l'impatto psicologico negativo.ope

Design of an Automated Book Reader as an Assistive Technology for Blind Persons

This dissertation introduces a novel automated book reader as an assistive technology tool for persons with blindness. The literature shows extensive work in the area of optical character recognition, but the current methodologies available for the automated reading of books or bound volumes remain inadequate and are severely constrained during document scanning or image acquisition processes. The goal of the book reader design is to automate and simplify the task of reading a book while providing a user-friendly environment with a realistic but affordable system design. This design responds to the main concerns of (a) providing a method of image acquisition that maintains the integrity of the source (b) overcoming optical character recognition errors created by inherent imaging issues such as curvature effects and barrel distortion, and (c) determining a suitable method for accurate recognition of characters that yields an interface with the ability to read from any open book with a high reading accuracy nearing 98%. This research endeavor focuses in its initial aim on the development of an assistive technology tool to help persons with blindness in the reading of books and other bound volumes. But its secondary and broader aim is to also find in this design the perfect platform for the digitization process of bound documentation in line with the mission of the Open Content Alliance (OCA), a nonprofit Alliance at making reading materials available in digital form. The theoretical perspective of this research relates to the mathematical developments that are made in order to resolve both the inherent distortions due to the properties of the camera lens and the anticipated distortions of the changing page curvature as one leafs through the book. This is evidenced by the significant increase of the recognition rate of characters and a high accuracy read-out through text to speech processing. This reasonably priced interface with its high performance results and its compatibility to any computer or laptop through universal serial bus connectors extends greatly the prospects for universal accessibility to documentation

Sistema de diagnóstico y análisis sobre la mejora de la experiencia visual para personas con daltonismo

Trabajo Fin de Grado en Ingeniería de Tecnologías y Servicios de TelecomunicaciónEl daltonismo es un defecto visual de origen genético que impide una visión correcta de los colores y afecta a una parte significativa de la población. Desde hace muchos años se ha intentado mejorar la experiencia visual de las personas que padecen dichas anomalías, además de intentar simplificar su diagnóstico. En este Trabajo de Fin de Grado, a partir de algoritmos desarrollados anteriormente, se realiza un Producto Mínimo Viable que permita demostrar la viabilidad de los mismos para el diagnóstico y análisis de mejora de la experiencia visual mediante dichos algoritmos, así como recopilar datos para su posterior análisis. Para poder realizar el estudio se ha diseñado una interfaz gráfica que evalúa la experiencia de usuario tanto de personas daltónicas como no daltónicas. Los usuarios daltónicos realizan dos tipos de test: un test de diagnóstico y otro de validación. El objetivo es comprobar si los algoritmos de simulación, utilizados en el test de diagnóstico, se pueden usar como herramienta para la determinación de los diferentes tipos de discromatopsia y si los algoritmos de recoloreado, utilizados en el test de validación, mejoran la experiencia visual de dichos usuarios o, en su defecto, conocer si se pueden mejorar en algún caso. Por otra parte, los usuarios que no sufren ningún tipo de daltonismo realizan un test cuyo objetivo es conocer las diferencias entre la visión de personas daltónicas y no daltónicas. Combinando los datos de los test anteriores se podrán sacar conclusiones sobre si el uso de estos algoritmos puede mejorar la vida de las personas daltónicas y cómo su uso en algunos dispositivos puede interferir en la visión de las personas con una visión normal

Computer-Based Solutions to Support Those With Colour Vision Deficiency to Access Day-to-Day Information

In modern-day society, we are bombarded with vast amounts of electronic information which we may be expected to make decisions from. Many people have difficulties in interpreting such information due to either physical or cognitive difficulties in using electronic devices, or an inability to identify information as intended by the author. Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD) is one such problem that can cause considerable difficulty in the interpretation of diagrammatical information. This is because a Colour Vision Deficient (CVDt) person has difficulty in seeing: colour boundaries, different shades of colour and different hues. There has been some research to aid the CVDt, where the majority of the research in image processing changes or transforms colours in any given image. Such transformations use a number of different algorithms to create a CVDt friendly post-processed image from the pre-processed image. A major problem of current transformation algorithms is that they are aimed for specific contexts and cannot be used in generic contexts. For example, the transformation algorithm may be aimed at aiding the CVDt to view postprocessed images of weather maps only. The aim of this dissertation is to provide an improved post-processed image algorithm. The algorithm is intended to provide the CVDt with greater benefit by being able to interpret the information in the post-processed image correctly. The algorithm used in this dissertation is not a colour transformation algorithm instead it is a colour separation algorithm. This concept of colour separation is novel. The colour separation algorithm, which is called the Halo-Effect Algorithm (HEA), parses a given image row-by-row and pixel-by-pixel until the end of file-marker is reached and a CVDt friendly post-processed image is furnished. When there is a colour change between two identified pixels then a colour boundary has been identified within the pre-processed image and a differently coloured pixel is inserted between two, furnishing the post-processed image. As the pre-processed image is parsed row-by-row then the colour the boundary builds up to form a colour boundary interface where the different coloured pixel are inserted in the post-processed image. In this dissertation the separation pixel is always white. The build-up of inserted white pixels at the colour boundary interface of the pre-processed image produces a halo like effect in the post-processed image which is CVDt friendly. To demonstrate the efficacy of the colour separation concept, the HEA has been developed and implemented. A number of surveys have been conducted using participant responses to questions within each survey. The responses that each participant gave were then collated and analysed statistically. Two statistical techniques were used to test a number of hypotheses around the mean of a sample drawn from a normally distributed population. In this dissertation the normally distributed populations were the survey participants. From the analyses of the responses, the survey population was divided into two groups. One group was identified to have no problem with identification of pre-processed colour boundaries and were called the non-CVDt. A second group was identified to be those who had some problems with the identification of pre-processed colour boundaries and were called the indicative- CVDt. Responses from the two groups were collated and statistical analyses were then conducted to test the significance of any results obtained and also to test the validity of the algorithms under investigation. In this dissertation two currently available, but different, colour transformation algorithms were compared with the colour separation algorithm of the HEA. Each of the two transformation algorithms were originally intended for specific use. One was aimed for spectra maps and the other was aimed for background text. Statistical analyses showed that each of the transformation algorithms provided benefit to the indicative-CVDt for their specific context only. However, statistical analyses also showed that HEA fared well in each of the two specific contexts. Thus, hinting that colour separation of HEA could be used in more general contexts. To confirm that colour separation can provide greater benefit to the indicative-CVDt in more generic contexts than colour transformations further surveys were undertaken. In each survey participants were asked a number of questions about a given image where colour boundaries are expected to occur frequently. One was a map of the provinces of Australia and the other a number of differently coloured geometric shapes. Statistical analyses showed that the colour separation algorithm of HEA provided greater benefit to the indicative-CVDt than the two colour transformation algorithms in both cases. Hence, confirming that colour separation of HEA is beneficial to the indicative-CVDt in generic contexts. Colour separation of the HEA is still in its infancy and a great deal more research is required to determine how great its efficacy is. For example, clinical studies could be undertaken using two sets from one population. One set of participants who would have been diagnosed as non-CVDt, which would be identified as a control group, and a second set who would have been diagnosed as CVDt, which would be identified as a test set

Introduction: Ways of Machine Seeing

How do machines, and, in particular, computational technologies, change the way we see the world? This special issue brings together researchers from a wide range of disciplines to explore the entanglement of machines and their ways of seeing from new critical perspectives. This 'editorial' is for a special issue of AI & Society, which includes contributions from: María Jesús Schultz Abarca, Peter Bell, Tobias Blanke, Benjamin Bratton, Claudio Celis Bueno, Kate Crawford, Iain Emsley, Abelardo Gil-Fournier, Daniel Chávez Heras, Vladan Joler, Nicolas Malevé, Lev Manovich, Nicholas Mirzoeff, Perle Møhl, Bruno Moreschi, Fabian Offert, Trevor Paglan, Jussi Parikka, Luciana Parisi, Matteo Pasquinelli, Gabriel Pereira, Carloalberto Treccani, Rebecca Uliasz, and Manuel van der Veen

Change blindness: eradication of gestalt strategies

Arrays of eight, texture-defined rectangles were used as stimuli in a one-shot change blindness (CB) task where there was a 50% chance that one rectangle would change orientation between two successive presentations separated by an interval. CB was eliminated by cueing the target rectangle in the first stimulus, reduced by cueing in the interval and unaffected by cueing in the second presentation. This supports the idea that a representation was formed that persisted through the interval before being 'overwritten' by the second presentation (Landman et al, 2003 Vision Research 43149–164]. Another possibility is that participants used some kind of grouping or Gestalt strategy. To test this we changed the spatial position of the rectangles in the second presentation by shifting them along imaginary spokes (by ±1 degree) emanating from the central fixation point. There was no significant difference seen in performance between this and the standard task [F(1,4)=2.565, p=0.185]. This may suggest two things: (i) Gestalt grouping is not used as a strategy in these tasks, and (ii) it gives further weight to the argument that objects may be stored and retrieved from a pre-attentional store during this task