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Biomedical subjects

J J Neve

Publications and source records attributed to J J Neve.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

The Visual Advice Centre, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. An intervenient evaluation.

On referral by ophthalmologists, the Visual Advice Centre provides the partially sighted with advice and prescriptions for illumination and visual aids. In this paper the multidisciplinary structure of the centre is presented and the results obtained in the first 18 months of its existence are discussed. Two hundred and ninety-eight patients were referred to the centre in this period. The majority of these patients (79.2%) were older than 60 years. The main cause of visual impairment was macular disease (45.3% of the patients). An interesting finding is that, although reading is an important need, reading problems only constituted 35.9% of the total number of demands for help. From an inquiry into the situation of 125 patients 6 months after prescription, it appears that more than 90% of the aids prescribed are used regularly. The conclusion is drawn that patients referred to the Visual Advice Centre benefit from the multi-disciplinary approach to their problems.

Adolescent↗

A typewriting system operated by head movements, based on home-computer equipment.

For persons who cannot move their hands and legs we have designed a relatively inexpensive typewriting system which can be operated by movements of the head. The typewriter is made up of commercially available home computer equipment - i e, a computer including monitor and printer and a headset replacing the mouse. A user-friendly software program has been designed to replace the mouse button and to make this equipment act as a typewriter with simple text-editing features. Some ergonomics aspects of the typewriter set-up and the results of an evaluation of the typewriter by two patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are given. Several factors relevant to the design, construction, evaluation and application of the typewriter are discussed.

Journal Article↗

On the use of hand-held magnifiers during reading.

Little is known about the actual use of magnifiers (or loupes) during reading. In studying the influence of the use of magnifiers on the reading process the reading field is a relevant factor. Four reading fields are distinguished: three horizontal reading fields and the vertical reading field. We examined the influence of a variation in the widths of these fields on the reading behavior of subjects. This was done by measuring two-dimensional loupe movements while subjects read text under conditions that provided a variety of reading field widths. It was found that individual subjects use different reading-field widths depending on loupe dimensions. Most difficulties in reading with a magnifier, especially finding the beginning of a new line, appear to result from the need to move the loupes horizontally in order to read the complete line of text.

Eye Movements↗

Reading fields of magnifying loupes.

For the purpose of understanding the influence of the use of magnifying loupes on the reading process, the reading field is a relevant concept. Three possible reading fields are distinguished: the monocular reading field, the binocular reading field, and the composite reading field. Theoretical expressions for the widths of reading fields are derived as a function of the physical parameters of the loupe and the geometry of the reading situation. Variation of reading-field width as a function of magnification is illustrated. For verification, experimentally determined reading-field widths were compared with the theoretical ones. There were small systematic deviations, probably caused by achromatic aberrations. In order to learn about the strategies that subjects use when reading with the aid of a loupe, loupe displacement was measured while subjects read text under conditions that provided a variety of reading-field widths. It was found that individual subjects use different strategies (i.e., they use different reading-field widths).

Fovea Centralis↗

Reading with hand-held magnifiers.

In addition to retinal magnification, the reading field is an important concept for understanding the influence of the use of hand-held magnifiers on the reading process. Three possible horizontal reading fields can be distinguished: the monocular reading field; the binocular reading field; and the composite reading field. In order to learn about the strategies that subjects use when reading with the aid of a magnifier, magnifier displacement was measured while subjects read texts under conditions that provided a variety of reading-field widths and text widths. It was found that individual subjects use different strategies (i.e. they use the monocular, binocular or composite reading-field width). In a following experiment for a large number of reading magnifiers the monocular field width was determined. In this experiment subjects were asked to define that part of the reading-field width which is free of aberrations. From these data the optimal width for reading magnifiers with different focal length can be specified.

Humans↗