MAC-You-Vision: A Progressive Training Application for Patients with Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) causes damage to the macular, leading to gradual and non-reversible loss of central vision and, in some instances, legal blindness. It is the leading cause of vision loss for adults aged 60 and older. As of 2019, 19.8 million people in the US had some form of AMD. Currently, there are technologies that assist those with visual impairment, but most are aimed at helping those who are already blind. Therefore, we implemented MAC-You-Vision, a progressive training application that tackles two main challenges: (1) how to enhance the livelihood of patients at the current stage of AMD and (2) how to prepare patients for vision loss that may occur in the future as the disease progresses. Our application is not only able to address patients’ concerns at any stage of the disease, but it will also keep offering unique features as the disease progresses. User evaluation indicates that our application is a comprehensive platform for AMD patients.