Digital Magnifying Glasses for Low-Vision Learners: Bringing Assistive Technologies to the Developing World

A student squinting to see the board or holding a textbook inches from his or her nose often provides the first indication of a visual impairment. For most, the cause is a refractive error, readily correctible with eyeglasses. However, for an estimated 40-65 million people globally with functional low vision, the fuzzy words pose a lifelong challenge. People with low vision, while not technically blind, suffer from a severe visual impairment that is not correctible optically or medically. As defined by the World Health Organization, even after the best possible correction, these individuals have a visual acuity between 3/60 (the threshold for blindness) and 6/18, with a visual field loss of 20 degrees or lower in the better eye. Low vision has myriad causes and manifestations, including central and peripheral vision loss, scattered blind spots, contrast loss, and severe near- or farsightedness.