(from abstract): As the population continues to age, prevalence of vision impairing diseases also will increase. Loss of reading ability has a major impact, and is of great concern to most low vision patients. The improvements in the computer and communication technologies, especially the increased capacity for accessing, storing, and manipulating text, make the use of the computer as the basis for a reading visual aid very attractive. The need substantially to increase the size of text displayed limits the number of characters that can be presented on the screen at once and requires large eye movements. Of primary importance to the visually impaired may be the ability to control the display format in ways that simplify eye movement control. Different text presentation formats may require differing eye movement control. The proposed experiments will evaluate the role of eye movements in low vision reading of electronic displays, in finding the best method for displaying text for patients with differing types of disabilities. The effect of presentation formats on reading rate, comprehension, and comfort will be evaluated with an emphasis on the reading of continuous text. A remote video camera based system will allow unobtrusive recording of eye movements under the natural condition of reading the displayed text. Scanning laser ophthalmoscopy recording of the subjects' retinas during reading of the various formats of text display presented will enable evaluation of the relation of the visible retinal landmarks/lesions to the text during reading eye movements. The results of these experiments should provide developers of electronic reading aids with the basic knowledge needed to design more useful text presentation, and rehabilitation personnel with the basis for selecting and recommending the proper display format to individual patients. Image enhancement by spatial processing has been shown to increase reading rate in two studies. The size of the effect found was very different. Experiments to learn whether presentation format or individual tuning of the enhancement can account for these differences will be conducted.
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