Low Vision Support Group, 11/6/19: How Come I Have Trouble Seeing When My Eye Doctor Says My Vision Is Fine?

A magnifying glass is held above a newspaper, focusing on the text "low vision"

Event Date:

Wednesday, November 6th, 2019 – 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Speaker:

Dr. Gunilla Haegerstrom-Portnoy

Host:

Dr. Donald C. Fletcher

Abstract

Abstract – Common age related changes in components of the eye reduce the light level to the back of the eye and reduce the contrast of objects and produce glare. These changes result in poor vision function under conditions frequently encountered in daily life. The discrepancy between test results at the eye doctor’s office done using high contrast and high light levels and daily life conditions will be illustrated using results from the SKI study on vision and aging. The SKI study tested 900 older observers living in Marin County and followed them for 12-15 years.

Host: Dr. Donald Fletcher

Join Dr. Don Fletcher, one of the world’s leading authorities on Low Vision Rehabilitation, to share experiences and learn about the things that help you maintain a full and happy life while living with low vision. This support group is completely free. Each month there is a new topic to discuss. There will also be opportunities to learn about the innovative research on low vision happening at Smith-Kettlewell.

 

 

Event Category

Community

Event type

Low Vision Support Group

Publications

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Overview of Robin, a wearable echolocation device designed to aid navigation and perception for people who are blind or have low vision. A mannequin wears the headset, which emits ultrasound pulses toward a chair, records the reflected echoes, and slows them down for playback in audible frequencies. A web app lets users customize the signal parameters.

Bhattacharyya, P., Tam, R., Reynolds, I., Orsmond, P., & Teng, S. (2025). Optimizing Signal Parameters to Enhance Echoacoustic Perception in Humans. Durham, UK.

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Agathos, C. P., Velisar, A. ., & Shanidze, N. . (2025). Examining gaze-driven postural adaptations in older adults with and without central visual field loss. Maastricht, Netherlands.

Krasovskaya, S. ., Coughlan, J. ., Patel, A. ., & Teng, S. . (2025). Modeling target search in blind echolocators using a Kalman Filter with realistic exploratory behavior simulations. Boston, MA.

Bhattacharyya, P. ., Tam, R. ., Reynolds, I. ., Orsmond, P. ., & Teng, S. . (2025). Optimizing Signal Parameters to Enhance Echoacoustic Perception of Objects and Scenes in Humans. Durham, UK.

García-Lázaro, H. G., & Teng, S. . (2025). Auditory masking release indexes human click-based echolocation performance. Boston, MA.

Shanidze, N. ., Velisar, A. ., & Agathos, C. P. (2025). Lifetime Noise Exposure is Associated with Greater Postural Sway during Quiet Stance.

Krasovskaya, S. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Teng, S. . (2025). A Kalman Filter model of echo-guided head movement. Durham, UK.

Agathos, C. P., Velisar, A. ., & Shanidze, N. . (2025). Postural Adaptations to Eccentric Viewing Strategies in Age-Related Central Visual Field Loss. Durham, UK.

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Velisar, A. ., Agathos, C. P., Telaprolu, D. S. L., & Shanidze, N. . (2025). Lifetime Noise Exposure Affects Age-Related Gait Changes. Maastricht, Netherlands.

Hand pointing to the wing of an airplane shown in a tactile graphic. The hand skeleton detected by computer vision is shown in green.

Ahmetovic, D., Coughlan, J., Dal Santo, G., Ezrouri, K., Manzoni, M., & Mascetti, S. (2025). CamIO in the Browser: A Cross-Platform Audio Label Tool for Tactile Graphics. MobileHCI 2025

Pitcher-Cooper, C. ., Ihorn, S. ., & Yoon, I. . (2024). Access granted: Unlocking accessibility in computer science through collaboration. ASSETS 2024 Workshop. Presented at the ASSETS 2024 Workshop. Association for Computing Machinery. (Original work published 2024)

Narcisi, A. ., Shen, H. ., Ahmetovic, D. ., Mascetti, S. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2024). Accessible Point-and-Tap Interaction for Acquiring Detailed Information about Tactile Graphics and 3D Models. International Conference on Computers Helping People With Special Needs. Presented at the International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs. Linz, Austria. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-62846-7_30 (Original work published 2024)

Seo, J. ., O’Modhrain, S. ., Xia, Y. ., Kamath, S. ., Lee, B. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2024). Born Accessible Data Science and Visualization Courses: Challenges of Developing Curriculum to be Taught by Blind Instructors to Blind Students. EUROVIS 2024. Presented at the EUROVIS 2024. https://doi.org/10.2312/eved.20241053 (Original work published 2024)

Hong, J. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2024). Enhancing Walk-Light Detector Usage for the Visually Impaired: A Comparison of VR Exploration and Verbal Instructions. Web4All 2024. Presented at the Web4All 2024. Singapore. (Original work published 2024)

Scott, A. ., Narins, L. ., Kulkarni, A. ., Castanon, M. ., Kao, B. ., Ihorn, S. ., … Yoon, I. . (2023). Improved Image Caption Rating – Datasets, Game, and Model. 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Presented at the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Hamburg, Germany: Association for Computing Machinery. 10.1145/3544549.3585632 (Original work published 2023)

Biggs, B. ., Toth, C. ., Stockman, T. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Walker, B. N. (2022). Evaluation of a Non-Visual Auditory Choropleth and Travel Map Viewer. International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD) 2022. Presented at the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD) 2022. Virtual. Retrieved from PMCID: PMC10010675 (Original work published 2022)

Coughlan, J. ., Biggs, B. ., & Shen, H. . (2022). Non-Visual Access to an Interactive 3D Map. Joint International Conference on Digital Inclusion, Assistive Technology & Accessibility (ICCHP-AAATE ’22). Presented at the Joint International Conference on Digital Inclusion, Assistive Technology & Accessibility (ICCHP-AAATE ’22). (Original work published 2022)

Sarker, P. ., Zaman, N. ., & Tavakkoli, A. . (2022). Vr-sft: Reproducing swinging flashlight test in virtual reality to detect relative afferent pupillary defect. 193-204. Springer Nature Switzerland Cham.

Coughlan, J. ., Biggs, B. ., & Shen, H. . (2021). Point and Listen: Bringing a 3D Map to Life with Audio-Based AR. 6th Annual Frameless XR Symposium. Presented at the 6th Annual Frameless XR Symposium. (Original work published 2021)

Biggs, B. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Coppin, P. . (2021). Design and evaluation of an interactive 3D map. RESNA 2021 Conference. Presented at the RESNA 2021 Conference. (Original work published 2021)

Binaee, K. ., Sinnott, C. B., Capurro, K. ., MacNeilage, P. R., & Lescroart, M. . (2021). Pupil tracking under direct sunlight. 2021 ACM Syposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications ActivEye Workshop. Presented at the 2021 ACM Syposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications ActivEye Workshop. Germany: Association for Computing Machinery. (Original work published 2021)

a picture describing an experimental setup where a robot bird is shown on a platform waiting for a live bird to land on a perch to start a birdsong

Araguas, A., Valencia, D., Chopin, A., Thomas, A., Gauthier, P., Richer, F., Guellai, B., & Deregnaucourt, S. (2026). Influence of behavioural contingency on developmental song learning in young zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) tutored by a robot bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 293(2066), 20252834. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.2834

Zaman, N., Potluri, V., Biggs, B., & Coughlan, M. J. (2025). WhatsAI: Transforming Meta Ray-Bans into an Extensible Generative AI Platform for Accessibility. arXiv preprint arXiv:2505.09823.

diagram if the cameras directed at robotic eyes with labels of individual components and placement in 3D space

Shanidze, M. N., Velisar, A., Lotze, A. W., & Love, K. K. (2025). Oculomotor simulator for assessing eye-tracking accuracy. US Patent 12,474,771

Likova, T. L., Mineff, N. K., Zhou, Z., Liang, M., & Tyler, W. C. (2025). Training-induced Reorganization of the Cross-modal Connectivity of the Human Motion Area in Severe Low Vision. Electronic Imaging, 37, 1–8.

Zaman, N. . (2024). Extending Vision with Extended Reality. University of Nevada, Reno.

Mukhtar, A. ., Henderson, K. ., Bourquin, S. ., Teng, S. ., & Puri, A. . (2024). Exploring Object Properties that Support the Transfer of Information Across Active Echolocation and Touch. New York, NY.

Child-robot interactions in different body and emotions oriented tasks: comparison with a human partner

Waisberg, E. ., Ong, J. ., Zaman, N. ., Tavakkoli, A. ., & Lee, A. . (2023). The Impact of COVID-19 on Ophthalmology Clinic and Surgical Volume. Ir Med J, 116, P884.

Waisberg, E. ., Ong, J. ., Masalkhi, M. ., Zaman, N. ., Sarker, P. ., Lee, A. G., & Tavakkoli, A. . (2023). GPT-4 and medical image analysis: Strengths, weaknesses and future directions. Journal of Medical Artificial Intelligence, 6.

Waisberg, E. ., Ong, J. ., Masalkhi, M. ., Zaman, N. ., Sarker, P. ., Lee, A. G., & Tavakkoli, A. . (2023). Chat Generative Pretrained Transformer to optimize accessibility for cataract surgery postoperative management. The Pan-American Journal of Ophthalmology, 5, 46.

Zaman, N. ., Sarker, P. ., & Tavakkoli, A. . (2023). Calibration of head mounted displays for vision research with virtual reality. Journal of Vision, 23, 7-7.

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Blindness and Low Vision Support Group

Join Annemarie Rossi, Occupational Therapist, and scientists at Smith-Kettlewell to share experiences and learn about resources for members of the blind and low vision community through the Blindness and Low Vision Support Group, founded by Dr. Donald Fletcher, M.D.

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