Every day we stay connected with friends, family, personal affairs, and communities through many different forms including letters, newspapers, pictures, and documents. If you experience any vision loss, whether from an eye condition that you were born with or one that developed as you aged, you may be familiar with reading glasses, handheld magnifiers, or even just adjusting the material you are reading until it comes into focus.  What do you do when these simple solutions are no longer enough to bring your life into focus?

Many eye conditions that cause low vision may result in blurred vision and a loss of contrast sensitivity.  With a significant loss of vision, standard reading glasses may be ineffective in addressing these issues.  Optical magnifiers are quite helpful for quick spot reading and can usually be carried in a purse or pocket for easy use, but they are limited to one set magnification level and a small viewing area.

How have advancements in technology, specifically related to vision loss, made accessing your everyday life possible?  Digital magnification gives you greater control over the amount of magnification you need for each letter, book, or picture you view.  The larger viewing monitor shows more words at one time than is possible with an optical magnifier and allows you to adjust the contrast as needed. 

In years past these advancements have been limited to larger, stationary devices, that kept you tethered to a desk.  The latest digital magnifiers give you back your freedom to move from room to room, go to work, school or even the grocery store while having access to magnification, contrast adjustment, and text-to-speech all at your fingertips.  

What impact do these latest advancements in technology have on people with vision loss?  Mark and Robert recently started using the Optelec Compact 10HD Speech to bring their life back into focus.

Low Vision Technology in Everyday Life

Robert has been using an optical magnifier for many years but recently found it did not offer enough magnification to perform many of his daily tasks.  He now uses the Optelec Compact 10 HD Speech to read his financial statements, write notes, and have long documents read aloud.  The lightweight portable device allows him to easily carry it from room to room and it travels with him throughout his daily life.

Mark uses the Optelec Compact 10 HD Speech to have books and other printed material read aloud to him using the OCR (text-to-speech) feature. He aligns the desired material in the frame and using the touch screen, he is ready to read the book. The screen can be magnified to enable him to read along, and the word spoken is highlighted making the task easier.

If you have noticed that standard reading glasses and optical magnifiers are not enough to magnify your daily activities, connect with us to learn about the latest in low vision technology or schedule a demonstration to find the device that is right for you. Bring Your Life into Focus!

Pictures and Customer Experiences provided by Beverly Watkins.