New technology helps the visually impaired to enjoy tv shows

A scientist at Schepens Eye Research Institute (SERI) found that increasing the contrast of details of certain sizes was of special importance in making television watching more enjoyable for the visually impaired.

The information from the study details information that will aid in the development of an electronic device to help millions suffering eye diseases.

People who may benefit from such a device include those suffering from macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other causes of low vision.

Dr. Eli Peli, lead investigator of the study, says, "Most of us take seeing the television for granted."
However for the blind or those with low vision the medium can be a source of great frustration and discouragement since so much news and entertainment come from tuning into the 'tube'.

Peli and his team found that patients liked the images that reflected their own individual settings for contrast and details better than the un-enhanced video.

However, personal preferences were only slightly higher for those individual settings than for the arbitrarily enhanced images.

Peli treats hundreds of patients suffering from vision impairments caused by diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy and other diseases that impair the central vision.

Peli, whose previous career was in electrical engineering is an optometrist by training, has devoted his career to creating and evaluating new technologies to help low-vision patients regain their ability to do these tasks.