Category: Innovations for Visually Impaired

I often get many e-mails when some type of macular degeneration research is in the news. Patients and loved one are wanting to know when, where and how they can get this “latest treatment.” Unfortunately just because some research is in the news, doesn’t mean that the new treatment is even close to being available to the public. In fact it may be just a glimmer of hope that was discovered in a lab or in animals that has not yet even been tried in humans.

Take for example the stem cell study being done for dry age related macular degeneration. It was announced on January 3, 2011 that the FDA approved the application from  Advanced Cell Technology  to treat dry AMD using retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells.  Even though the study sites had not yet been determined, many people were anxious to find out how they could participate in the study.

Clinical Trial Stages

There is a process or stages that all clinical trials follow. They begin as a  Phase I, and then if the initial reports are positive they move to a  Phase II, and then to a  Phase III and again if positive results are still seen they move to a Phase IV. Any study can be discontinued during any of these phases if the researchers find that the treatment is not safe or effective. So each study that is listed at the National Institute website (www.clinicaltrials.gov) will list what phase the study is in.

Clinical Trial Number of Participants

The number of participants allowed into the study is determined prior to the start of the study. Once the pre-determined numbers are reached no other participants are allowed to be in the research study. Phase I clinical trials will recruit only a small number (10 – 80) because this phase is determining the safety of the treatment. Phase II trials allow a larger group of people, typically in the 100 – 300 range to see if the new treatment is effective. In a Phase III the study will seek to confirm the effectiveness of the new treatment, monitor it for side effects and compare it to standard treatment.

Clinical Trial Criteria

All clinical trials list criteria that makes a patient eligible for a study and criteria that makes a patient ineligible.  For instance in the Complement Inhibition With Eculizumab for the Treatment of Non-Exudative Macular Degeneration (AMD) (COMPLETE) study patients must be 50 years old or older with a diagnosis of non-exudative (dry) macular degeneration. Criteria that would make a patient ineligible for this study would be a diagnosis of wet macualr degeneration. No exceptions can be made or study results would be flawed.  Perhaps with a better understanding now of how clinical trials work, you may want to find out more specifics on what is happening with macular degeneration research:

Macular Degeneration Research

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

Better Health for Better Vision

www.WebRN-MacularDegeneration.com

Blind Community Fine-tunes Avast! Antivirus Software
for Screen-reader Capability

PRAGUE, Czech Republic, August 12, 2010 – AVAST Software, providers of the avast! antivirus program, has announced that the latest update to its antivirus application makes computer security fully accessible to the vision-impaired.  Using basic screen-reader technology, blind and low-vision computer users can now protect their computers from malware and unwanted viruses with any of the avast! Antivirus 5.0 offerings – avast! Free Antivirus, avast! Pro Antivirus and avast! Internet Security.

The push for this development came from vision-impaired IT geeks  who wanted to use avast! Antivirus 5.0.   “For the blind, the computer is an absolutely fantastic invention. And for some, it’s even their hobby to adjust it,” said Radek Seifert, work-team leader at the TEREZA Center, a support center for the sight-impaired at the Czech Technical University in Prague.

These volunteers fine-tuned avast! so it worked with  JAWS®, a leading screen-reader technology. “They said, ‘give us the beta’ so we did,” remembers Ondrej Vlcek, AVAST Chief Technical Officer. “It was also a complicated issue on our side as avast! does not use the standard Windows controls.”

Screen reader software is designed to navigate through a website and read the web content aloud. A screen reader uses a Text-To-Speech (TTS) engine to translate on-screen information into speech, which can then be heard through earphones or speakers. In addition to speech feedback, screen readers are also capable of providing information in Braille. An external hardware device, known as a refreshable Braille display, is needed for this.

“A screen reader can be complicated to adjust – there are many ways to fine-tune the program and some very small differences made in adjusting the information that needs to be read aloud,” explained Mr. Seifert.

The cooperation between the blind community  and AVAST Software is being noticed globally. “It’s great to see that a company like yours doesn’t take very long to make their programs accessible to blind or visually impaired users. I am happy to say that avast! 5.0 does now work fully with Jaws,” wrote in Michael Osmond, a blind JAWS trainer at Dalhousie University in Haifax, Canada. An avast! user since 2008, he was particularly concerned that the email filter in 5.0 would work correctly.

The computer, and screenreader technologies, is now an integral part of blind people’s lives.  “The JAWS program is so much more than a simple screen reader – it is a navigational aid,” said Eric Damery, VP Software Product Management, Freedom Scientific.  “We believe this technology truly empowers the vision-impaired and the newest antivirus program from avast! will provide peace of mind for computer users.”

ABOUT AVAST
AVAST Software protects over 100 million registered users in over 240 countries with its avast! antivirus  program. avast! Free Antivirus sets the standard as a free, full-featured computer security application that matches or exceeds the performance of other paid products. The avast! 5.0 portfolio includes Free Antivirus, Pro Antivirus for customized protection, and the premium Internet Security with its no-hassle Silent Firewall. Anchored by the CommunityIQ network of sensors for reporting on-line threats and supported by multiple protective shields, avast! performance has been certified by VB100, ICSA Labs, and West Coast Labs. Available in around 30 languages, avast! provides global protection for homes and businesses that speaks your language. Be free with avast!

Original post can be found at: http://www.prlog.org/10854779-computer-protection-available-for-the-vision-impaired.html

If you live long enough, you will probably develop one. Six out of 10 people over age 60, and almost everyone over age 80 has one. Has what? A cataract. Despite this prevalence, most people don’t know the facts about cataracts until they’re “eye-to-eye” with one. Now is the time to educate yourself about the condition and breakthroughs in treatment. (continue reading…)

By Denise DeWitt

A new product just approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is offering new hope to elderly patients with end-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The implantable, miniature telescope is considered breakthrough technology to help offset the effects of AMD, which results in functional vision loss and is the leading cause of blindness in older Americans.

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As reported by Medical News Today, UC Irvine scientists have created an eight-layer, early stage retina from human embryonic stem cells, the first three-dimensional tissue structure to be made from stem cells. It also marks the first step toward the development of transplant-ready retinas to treat eye disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration that affect millions.

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MIAMI (AFP) – A 60-year-old US grandmother, blind for nearly a decade, has recovered her sight after surgeons implanted a tooth in her eye as a base to hold a tiny plastic lens, her doctors said Wednesday. (continue reading…)

Bristol/Hong Kong-based Ocean Blue Software, a specialist digital TV software house, has developed “talking” digital TV technology for set top boxes and televisions that could potentially benefit millions of people who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, severely dyslexic, and elderly.

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For people who are blind or visually impaired, orientation in unknown environments is a special challenge. A navigation system, however, can help to support orientation skills. Researchers at the University of Stuttgart are drawing information together for blind and visually impaired students that can be accessed with a precise mobile navigation device. (continue reading…)

Raised domes alert blind people they’ve reached end of sidewalk Pedestrian walkways in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area are becoming more accessible for people with visual impairments.

Pedestrian walkways in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area are becoming more accessible for people with visual impairments.

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*New! A crisper High Definition image

*New! Freeze frame with adjustable size and contrast

*New! Improved Battery Life (up to 2-hours)

*New! Also available in black

*Lightweight and Portable (only 1.3 lbs)

*3.5x to 14x adjustable magnification

*Large 6.5″ anti-glare LCD screen (tilts for comfortable viewing)

*Large field of view (see more of reading area)

*6 viewing modes to optimize contrast and brightness

*Connects with any TV for increased magnification

*Writing stand and carrying case included

*2 year warranty