Introduction When optimal lighting is applied to hard‐copy materials for visually impaired individuals, laboratory‐based reading performance can improve significantly. However, it is not known whether their lighting preferences are related to ocular factors or if laboratory‐based reading improvements will translate to home‐based environments. Methods Preferences for brightness (lux) and colour temperature (degrees Kelvin; K) with the LuxIQ/2 for ‘most comfort’ while reading at near were evaluated in‐clinic for 71 adults with ocular disease affecting the outer (n = 37; 52%), inner or all retinal layers (n = 34; 48%). Twenty participants received either an OttLite Cobra lamp or a generic gooseneck lamp with a bulb resembling LuxIQ/2 parameters for their preferred reading light, and then completed home‐based telephone evaluations using the sustained silent reading test. Results Participants with outer retinal disease preferred significantly brighter light intensity by an average of 838 lux versus those with inner retinal disease (95% CI: 331, 1344; p = 0.002). No participants opted for a coloured tint for reading based on the LuxIQ/2 measurements since they preferred white light only; most preferred the OttLite Cobra lamp. At home, reading speed improved significantly by an average of 37 words per minute with the new lamp (95% CI: 12, 62; p = 0.005). Conclusions Patients with outer retinal disease prefered brighter light intensity for reading. Clinic‐based lighting preferences yielded improvements in reading speed when using a new task light at home.
We explored the feasibility of using Bluetooth low energy (BLE) beacon sensors to determine when individuals with low vision (LV) use handheld magnifiers at home. Knowing the frequency and duration of magnifier use would be helpful to document increased magnifier use after successful rehabilitation training, or conversely, to know when someone has abandoned a magnifier and requires assistance. Estimote Sticker BLE beacon sensors were attached to the handles of optical handheld magnifiers and dispensed to eight LV subjects to use at home. Temperature and motion data from the BLE beacon sensors were collected every second by a custom mobile application on a nearby smartphone and transmitted to a secure database server. Subjects noted the date and start/end times of their magnifier use in a diary log. Each of the 99 diary-logged self-reports of magnifier use across subjects was associated with BLE beacon sensor recordings of motion (mean 407 instances; SD 365) and increased temperature (mean 0.20 °C per minute; SD 0.16 °C) (mean total magnitude 5.4 °C; SD 2.6 °C). Diary-logged duration of magnifier use (mean 42 min; SD 24) was significantly correlated with instances of motion (p < 0.001) and rate of temperature increase (p < 0.001) recorded by the BLE beacon sensors. The BLE beacon sensors reliably detected meaningfully increased temperature, coupled with numerous instances of motion, when magnifiers were used for typical reading tasks at home by people with LV.
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