Vision is an integrating sense that allows us to interact with the environment, it is even said that 80% of the information we receive is through the visual system, therefore, when there is a visual pathology, people could be significantly affected access to information and thus their quality of life.
Among the main visual pathologies are those that cause loss of central vision, which means that people see a spot (scotoma) in the center of their vision, which prevents them from reading and seeing people’s faces. Many of the pathologies that cause this loss have no cure at present, so the main alternative for these people is visual rehabilitation, where reading skills are mainly trained, since more than 80% of the people who attend visual rehabilitation services have as their main objective to improve their reading.
Why is reading important?
Students with central vision loss need accommodations with their learning materials. The act of reading is fundamental for full participation and autonomy in modern society, since even with the boom in the use of technological devices, most of the information continues to be presented in text form. In addition, when analyzing the tasks that an individual performs in his or her daily life, it is very likely that in most of the activities he or she must resort directly or indirectly to reading. Reading is not only that process of mechanical decoding, but it involves the ability of comprehension and critical analysis, so that it is also an essential skill to access knowledge, information and even culture, playing a fundamental role in the intellectual and cognitive development of everyone (Ardila,2022; Carballar et al.,2017). Thus, a person’s
reading ability is usually positively related to levels of autonomy and quality of life (Kaltenegger et al., 2018; Alonso-Arévalo, 2019).
What happens when there is a loss of central vision?
Reading may seem like an automatic process, but it involves a complex interplay of oculomotor control, poor crowding effects, adequate visual span and the ability to perceive detail, all of which depend primarily on visual function. When there is damage at the macular level, reading performance can be impaired and this task can be frustrating for these
people to the point that many of them stop reading. When a person reads, he/she needs to move his/her eyes from one word to another, however, when there is loss of central vision and the spots prevent seeing the words, people must be trained to find an area of better vision, which is also known as preferential retinal locus or use of eccentric vision. This process is by no means simple and there are currently no innovative tools to support both the training and the reading task.
What are the alternatives to reading?
In many occasions these people are recommended to move the text in front of their eyes instead of moving their eyes. In addition, they are recommended the use of magnification and contrast enhancement. On the other hand, some studies expose the potential benefit of using the scrolling text technique and the static gaze strategy, which means that the text that is presented slides across the screen, so that, without moving the eyes, the person can read. These studies show that this type of text presentation improves reading comprehension, decreases the number of errors, increases reading speed and facilitates people’s adherence to the use of the zone of best vision (Akthar et al., 2021; Bowman et al., 2021; Walker et al., 2016; Harvey and Walker, 2014; Dickinson et al., 2024). To facilitate reading, the mobile application called Eccentric Visor has been created.
What is Eccentric Visor?
Eccentric Visor is a mobile visual aid application designed to transform the reading experience of people with low vision, in particular, those with central vision loss caused mainly by maculopathies, which produce the appearance of a spot (scotoma) in the central area of vision.
In Eccentric Visor, text scrolls horizontally across the screen (scrolling text), so that it can be read without people having to move their eyes.
The app features a focus point, which guides the person to use their optimal viewing zone, moving the spot outside the reading area. In addition to the above aids (scrolling text and the focus point), the application allows users to change font size and type, text contrast and scrolling speed to suit their personal needs.
To load the text in the application the user has 3 possible ways:
1. By importing a PDF document stored in the device’s memory or in the cloud, the application will extract the text.
2. With the help of the device’s camera, the user can take a photo and by using OCR extract the text present in the photo, so that he/she can read content present in physical books, printed documents, posters, etc.
3. Use the contents of the mobile device’s clipboard to read texts copied by the user.
The first version of Eccentric Visor has the above features and is available for download by users from Google Play. We have additional ideas in the pipeline based on the application of artificial intelligence techniques that allow users to consume content in an accessible and productive way.
Functionality of Eccentric Visor
Main Screen: Allows users to have a library, upload PDF documents, paste text, capture text via photo, and adjust the text presentation.
Settings: Allows users to change the contrast, font, and text size, as well as to activate or deactivate the focus point for eccentric viewing.
Contrast: 10 options for changing the background and text color.

Font and Size: 5 options for font type and text size ranging from 18 to 45 points.

Reading Screen: The focus point that assists with eccentric viewing can be moved across the screen.
What are the benefits of Eccentric Visor?
Eccentric Visor is a tool that facilitates the use of the zone of best vision, by providing an accessible and easy to use tool that can be used both by TVIs, visual rehabilitation professionals who train reading, and by the same people with central vision loss for everyday reading tasks, including people with difficulties in saccadic movements, especially those with motor disabilities. In addition, by meeting accessibility criteria, this application promotes autonomy, independence, access to information and thus could improve the quality of life of these people.
Eccentric Visor makes it easier for people to obtain text from different sources according to their daily needs and finally, being a technological tool, it allows immediate personalization of the text in terms of contrast, size and font, which would be extremely complex and costly if printed material were used.
How to download Eccentric Visor?
Eccentric Visor is available for download on Android devices from Google Play.
This app was developed by the Tiflolabs group, which develops solutions for the visually impaired. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube, if you need more information: www.tiflolabs.com
References
Akthar F, Harvey H, Subramanian A, Liversedge S, Walker R. A comparison of reading, in people with simulated and actual central vision loss, with static text, horizontally scrolling text, and rapid serial visual presentation. J Vis. 2021 Nov 1;21(12):5. doi: 10.1167/jov.21.12.5. PMID: 34751737; PMCID: PMC8590178.
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Dickinson, C., Hernández, A. y Crossland, M. (2024). Low vision: Principles and management. Elsevier.
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Walker R, Bryan L, Harvey H, Riazi A, Anderson SJ. The value of Tablets as reading aids for individuals with central visual field loss: an evaluation of eccentric reading with static and scrolling text. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2016 Jul;36(4):459-64. doi: 10.1111/opo.12296. Epub 2016 Apr 7. PMID: 27061397; PMCID: PMC4999034.
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