Disability Issues

NETRA: Diagnosing Vision Disorders With a $2 Attachment to a Mobile Phone

Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on May 10, 2011

Tagged With:

Read More >>

NETRA: Diagnosing Vision Disorders With a $2 Attachment to a Mobile Phone data sheet 3316 Views

Having poor vision can affect nearly every aspect of life, and although it’s easy for those with nearsightedness or farsightedness to know something is wrong, getting a correct diagnosis and prescription for corrective eyewear can be difficult in rural areas. A new device called NETRA could change all that with a cheap, small clip-on tool for mobile phones. Developed by the Camera Culture Group at the MIT Media Lab, NETRA works by having users look through a camera lens and align images on a display screen until the images come into focus.

Basic Information

Website URL:

http://web.media.mit.edu/~pamp...

Organization involved in the project?:

MIT Media Lab

Project goals:

The project goal was to create a cheap, portable way to diagnose vision disorders such as refractive errors and cataracts.

Brief description of the project:

Users look through the clip-on lens at a very close range and align the patterns displayed on a mobile phone screen. The number of manipulations needed to align the images reveals the level of refractive error in the user's eye.

Target audience:

Rural residents who need to diagnose vision problems

Detailed Information

Length of Project (in months) :

Status:

Ongoing

What worked well? :

The project allows users to get accurate prescriptions for vision problems in a cheap and accessible way through the use of a clip-on camera lens and manipulable light displays.

What did not work? What were the challenges?:

Challenges include: the reliability on user diagnosis. Because the system does not require a trained optometrist to deliver the test, the chance for user error is higher than with traditional eye tests.

Links to any evaluations/reports/research:

http://web.media.mit.edu/%7Epa...

The New "Seeing-Eye" Dog: Mobile Phone Navigation for Blind People

Posted by CorinneRamey on Nov 15, 2007

A new software project called Loadstone-GPS provides navigational assistance to blind and visually impaired individuals. The software, which is open source and can be downloaded for free, uses screen readers such as Mobile Speak and Talks and can be operated on a Nokia phone with the S60 smartphone platform.

MobileActive.org