March 21, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
Lighthouse International, in New York, has developed a low-vision simulator for its new Web site that shows how people with eye disease see the world.
Visitors to the site can pick a YouTube video or use one of their own videos and then select a filter that simulates retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, glaucoma, hemianopia, or diabetic retinopathy.
“Many of our patients here tell us that they want to describe to their family and friends how they see,” says Tina Georgeou, the organization’s chief marketing officer. “They want them to understand the problems that they’re encountering.”
When people are diagnosed with an eye disease, they fear they will lose their vision entirely, says Mark G. Ackermann, chief executive of Lighthouse International. The new simulator, he says, will help show patients that many times that isn’t the case.
“It will help people overcome the fear and the challenges that they face as they get these kind of diagnoses,” he says.
To get there: Go to http://lighthouse.org/donate-volunteer/vision-simulator.
