At last, National Eye Health Week 2022 (NEHW 19-25 September)has acknowledged the vital role that assistive technology can play in the lives of those experiencing sight loss. Amongst daily themes, from children’s eye health, good vision for driving and the impact of lifestyles on eye health, to minor eye conditions and the menopause and eye health, assistive technology has now made its mark!
Let’s not forget about those who may heed NEHW’s eye health advice but who still have to manage their low vision, temporary sight loss or blindness and the role that assistive technology can play in their rehabilitation and improvement in their quality of life.
Assistive technology is certainly not a panacea for sight loss. It does not pretend to prevent, treat or even cure eye disease. However, at VisionBridge we strongly believe that it can greatly mitigate the effects of sight loss and support mental-health and emotional well-being. It should be considered as a useful friend in times of crisis or specific need and can offer a range of functions from vision enhancement and reading support to scene description, obstacle avoidance and wayfinding.
VisionBridge CIC has no commercial interest in assistive technology but we are fully invested in our mission to widen access to appropriate technologies. So, just for starters, check out two examples of highly innovative tech in the stable of devices and solutions offered by Sight and Sound Technology and Sound Technology (supporters of NEHW) the SmartVision3 phone and the Ruby 10 with Speech.
And take a look at another NEHW supporter, the remarkable digital wayfinding solution Waymap, offering highly accurate, step by step guidance internally and externally, to those visually impaired people on the move who want to remain as independent, safe, mobile and informed as possible.
Waymap launch announcement for Washington, D.C.
A mission statement from Tom .
The necessary work to prevent, treat and cure eye disease plus improve eye health continues – but the delivery of smarter and more reliable tech with better value has only just begun!
For further details of emerging, highly innovative assistive technologies designed to support those with sight loss, dual sensory loss and associated challenges, email julian@visionbridge.org.uk.