Learn about users: Aging: Changes in visual function Gaël Vasseur Tokyo Institute of Technology Graduate school of Information Science and Engineering Department of Computer Science Nakajima laboratory Master 1 st year

How big is the problem? Background information on human vision Changing in vision function Some Low Vision Products Content How big is the problem? Background information on human vision Changing in vision function Some Low Vision Products

Generalities Age related vision changes Appear from 40~50 years old Vision impairment concerns: 1/6 Americans aged 45 or older (16.5 million people just in the USA!! ) 1/4 Americans aged 75 or older

How Big is the Problem? Some numbers: 13% of the population is over 65 25% of the population is over 50, the age of when decline begins in 30 years, the 65+ population will double (66 million people) over 85 is the fastest growing segment of the population these numbers don't include the large population of younger people with low vision from other causes.

How big is the problem? Background information on human vision Changing in vision function Some Low Vision Products Content How big is the problem? Background information on human vision Changing in vision function Some Low Vision Products

The human vision system: a very simple system

Sclerotic coat The sclerotic coat : (white) The cornea: (transparent) admits light to the interior of the eye bends the light rays to that they can be brought to a focus

The human vision system: a very simple system Choroid coat The choroid coat : reduces reflection of stray light within the eye The iris : (colored) Control the amount of light entering the eye and improve image forming ability by controlling the pupil opening

The human vision system: a very simple system Retina

The human vision system: a very simple system Retina The retina : contains the light receptors, the rods and cones process the signals arising in the rods and cones before passing them back to the brain

The human vision system: a very simple system Retina (2) The macula : a small and highly sensitive part of the retina responsible for detailed central vision allows us to appreciate detail and perform tasks that require central vision such reading The Fovea: Very center of the macula

The human vision system: a very simple system Retina (3) The blind spot: point on the retina where the approximately 1 million axons converge on the optic nerve, there are no rods or cones Insensitive to light

The human vision system: a very simple system Lens

The human vision system: a very simple system Lens The Lens: Its shape is controlled by the ciliary muscle enable the eye to adjust its focus between far objects and near objects

How big is the problem? Background information on human vision Changing in vision function Some Low Vision Products Content How big is the problem? Background information on human vision Changing in vision function Some Low Vision Products

Changes in visual function

Aging effects on vision Normal changing on aging eyes Losing focus Declining sensitivity Needing More Light Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Macular degeneration Glaucoma Cataract Diabetic retinopathy

Aging effects on vision Normal changing on aging eyes Losing focus Declining sensitivity Needing More Light Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Macular degeneration Glaucoma Cataract Diabetic retinopathy

Aging effects on vision Normal changing on aging eyes Losing focus (presbyopia) Cause: lens begins to lose elasticity, difficult to focus when looking close objects Affect activities such as reading

Aging effects on vision Normal changing on aging eyes Declining sensitivity Cause: The lens of the eye also becomes increasingly dense and more yellow Affect color perception and contrast sensitivity Make it difficult to see curves, Steps…

Aging effects on vision Normal changing on aging eyes Declining sensitivity

Aging effects on vision Normal changing on aging eyes Needing More Light Cause: pupil gets smaller, need for more light to see well, more time to adjust to changing levels of illumination Difficult to see when entering dimly restaurants, theaters…

Aging effects on vision Normal changing on aging eyes Losing focus Declining sensitivity Needing More Light Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Glaucoma Macular degeneration Cataract Diabetic retinopathy

Aging effects on vision Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Glaucoma The optical nerve is damaged subtle loss of contrast difficulty driving at night loss of peripheral vision (late-stage glaucoma)

Aging effects on vision Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Glaucoma

Aging effects on vision Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Glaucoma

Aging effects on vision Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Macular degeneration The macula (central part of the retina) is damaged. Effects: central vision loss vision becomes blurred and distorted reading becomes difficult color vision is reduced increased need for light

Aging effects on vision Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Macular degeneration

Aging effects on vision Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Macular degeneration

Aging effects on vision Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Cataract Clouding of the lens that reduces visual acuity vision seems hazy trouble distinguishing colors increased sensitivity to glare; light scatters and appears like a "halo"

Aging effects on vision Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Cataract

Aging effects on vision Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Cataract

Aging effects on vision Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Diabetic retinopathy Entire retina (including macula) damaged by leaking blood vessels (caused by diabetes) blurred vision near vision distortion (difficulty reading)

Aging effects on vision Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Diabetic retinopathy

Aging effects on vision Eye disorders, health problems or injuries Diabetic retinopathy

How big is the problem? Background information on human vision Changing in vision function Some Low Vision Products Content How big is the problem? Background information on human vision Changing in vision function Some Low Vision Products

How Big is the Problem? (review) Some numbers: 13% of the population is over 65 25% of the population is over 50, the age of when decline begins in 30 years, the 65+ population will double (66 million people) over 85 is the fastest growing segment of the population these numbers don't include the large population of younger people with low vision from other causes.

How Big is the Problem? (review) Some numbers: 13% of the population is over 65 25% of the population is over 50, the age of when decline begins in 30 years, the 65+ population will double (66 million people) over 85 is the fastest growing segment of the population these numbers don't include the large population of younger people with low vision from other causes. Low vision products are a very big market!! Future products must be usable by old people

Low vision products Examples: Make bigger objects

Low vision products Examples: Make objects bigger

A bit of science fiction… …and an interesting works Low vision products

A bit of science fiction… …and an interesting works Low vision products

A bit of science fiction… …and an interesting work Low vision products ?

Conclusion There is a real need for products design for people suffering from low vision problems: “If medicine cannot help people well to use objects, let’s make the objects easier to use”

Related papers & web-sites LightHouse International “Aging Vision, A publication for Practitioners, Researchers and Educators Volume 16 Number 1 Spring 2004” Hppt:// Ian Overington “Computer Vision, a unified, biologically-inspired approach” Sowerby research center, British aerospace PLC,

Thank you for listening Any question? Any ideas?!!