Display calculation tool makes digital reading accessible for patients with low vision
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Researchers have developed a step-by-step calculation procedure to determine the appropriate digital reading display for individuals with low vision, according to a study published in Optometry and Vision Science.
“Our approach can help clinicians in making recommendations for their patients, digital product designers in developing more accessible devices and low-vision individuals in selecting digital displays for reading,” Ying-Zi Xiong, PhD, a researcher in the department of psychology at the University of Minnesota, and colleagues wrote.
To determine the optimal size of digital reading displays for maximum reading speed in individuals with low vision, Xiong and colleagues developed a step-by-step procedure to help clinicians guide digital display selection for their patients.
The researchers’ display selection procedure included estimating the individual’s critical print size, determining the minimum display width, choosing the appropriate device and estimating the appropriate font size.
According to researchers, reading tests and measurements of visual acuity, visual field and font preference allow clinicians to determine an individual’s critical print size, critical character count and optimal reading distance. Clinicians can then utilize this information to estimate the minimum display width needed to select the appropriate digital reading device for their patients. Once the device has been chosen, a range for optimal font size can be calculated.
The study authors also acknowledged that other factors like lighting, contrast, cost, portability and access to contrast polarity adjustment can also play a role in determining the correct digital reading display for a patient with low vision.
“Future studies can investigate how these factors affect low-vision individuals’ final display selection, which would provide useful information to guide the design of digital devices that can accommodate low-vision individuals’ needs,” Xiong and colleagues wrote. “Nevertheless, our procedure provides specifications for the minimum display size for prescribing the digital configurations for a particular low-vision reader.”
The digital reading display selection tool is available at myreadingdisplay.umn.edu.
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Patients with low vision commonly use digital reading devices and they often seek guidance from their optometrist on the best way to use these devices to read. This technical report provides an overview of reading performance in patients with low vision and then provides a step-wise procedure on how to determine the minimum display size needed for a patient with low vision to achieve their reading goals based on the patient’s visual acuity and reading distance. This paper walks the reader through calculating a patient’s critical print size, estimating the minimum display width needed, choosing an appropriate device and then estimating the best font size for that patient. This procedure can be extremely useful to help practitioners determine what type and size of device is most appropriate for their patient with low vision and determine what print size will be appropriate for comfortable reading on a digital reading device.
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