Low vision enhancement system

The Johns Hopkins University, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Veterans Administration are collaborating to develop and test the Low Vision Enhancement System (LVES), a new technology for aiding persons with severe, chronic visual impairments. The LVES consists of a batterypowered, binocular, head-mounted black-and-white video display equipped with three video cameras. Two cameras provide a 60° normal-magnification binocular view with near-normal disparity to orient the user in space. The center camera supplies a 50° variable-magnification, variable-focus "cyclopean" view to enhance and magnify images. Image-enhancement features currently under development include realtime preemphasis spatial filtering and real-time pixel remapping. Prototypes of the LVES currently are being tested on patients with low vision at the Veterans Administration Blindness Rehabilitation Centers and in its Vision Impairment Center To Optimize Remaining Sight programs.