© 2021 M.G. Apostoaie & M.I. Baritz. This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
https://doi.org/10.2478/9788395815065-032
Assistive systems for subjects with low vision
Mirela Gabriela APOSTOAIE
University Transilvania Brasov, Brasov, Romania
mirela.aposoaie@unitbv.ro
Mihaela Ioana BARITZ
University Transilvania Brasov, Brasov, Romania
mbaritz@unitbv.ro
Abstract. Low vision is an acute form of impaired visual function due to multiple causes and
changes in the patient's functional behavior. At the moment there is on the market of assistive
technology products a wide range of such systems that can support patients with different
degrees of visual impairment and at the same time can adapt to different activity requirements
of these patients. However, the need has been identified to use more efficient and reliable
devices in terms of manoeuvrability and to offer "freedom" of movement to patients using such
systems. This paper presents some aspects related to the implementation of assistive
technologies in the prevention and rehabilitation procedures carried out by the optometrist, in
order to improve the activity of patients with multiple sensory and / or locomotor disabilities.
The first part of the paper analyzes the prevalence of multiple sensory and motor disabilities
in order to identify and develop dedicated and personalized assistive technologies in order to
support these patients. In the second part of the paper are proposed two such variants of care
systems that offer patients with low vision and blindness the opportunity to move safely to and
from the points of interest of its activity. The final part of the paper presents the results and
conclusions of the use of these assistive systems and the identification of their future
improvement points so that patients become more and more secure in mobility, communication
and information transmission / reception.
Keywords: assistive technology, low vision, information
Introduction
The definition of disability can be considered: a physical or mental condition that limits
a person's movements, senses or activities. According to Soder in the work Disability
as a social construct: the labelling approach revisited, “a person who uses any assistive
device is considered to have a disability” (Soder, 1989).
World statistics report that about 15% of the world's population, representing more than
a billion people, live with a type of disability (physical, mental or intellectual) so it can
be said that they are the largest and most important minority in the world. This overall
estimate for disability is increasing due to an aging population and the rapid spread of
chronic diseases, as well as improvements in the methodologies used to measure
disability.
Health conditions can be visible or invisible; temporary or long-term; static, episodic,
or degenerating; painful or without consequences.
The World Health Organization defines rehabilitation as “a set of measures that help
individuals who have or are likely to experience disabilities to achieve and maintain
optimal functioning in interaction with their environment.”(Organization, 2011)
Classification of disabilities