Senior Care Products
See the Possibilities
Technology offers many solutions for older individuals facing a loss of independence. Often the core issue is vision impairment due to causes like age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that forces an otherwise healthy and alert individual to start relying on others. AMD affects central vision, the area that is crucial for identifying faces, seeing details, reading, writing and performing other daily tasks, leaving the individual affected with only peripheral vision.
Fortunately, there are a number of assistive technology products available today that can help people with AMD and other vision impairments to live independently, cope with day-to-day tasks and stay in their own homes. Products such as portable and desktop video magnifiers, screen reading and magnification software and scanning and reading appliances are just some of the solutions available.
By introducing these products into their daily lives, many have been able to regain their independence and improve their quality of life, simply by being able to read again, enjoy family photos, take up hobbies and generally do more for themselves.
Desktop Video Magnifiers
A desktop video magnifier uses a live motion camera and a large video monitor to display text, photos and objects at a greatly magnified scale. A sliding reading table under the camera makes it easy to move a book or magazine smoothly back and forth to read at high magnification. Foreground and background colors can be selected that make the text stand out more while reducing eye fatigue.
Handheld Video Magnifiers
A great companion to the desktop video magnifier is the handheld video magnifier. Most people try using a magnifying glass as their vision deteriorates, but find the distortion too difficult to deal with once they go above about 3X magnification. A battery-powered video magnifier provides high magnification without the distortion and can be easily carried about the house or on a shopping trip. Most of these products also offer the ability to change display colors to bring out the text in high contrast.
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