It has been my honor to serve as The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute's Executive Director since 2011, and I also serve as Director of our Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC). The Center's research goal is to develop and apply new scientific knowledge and practical, cost-effective devices to understand and address better the real-world problems of blind, visually impaired, and deaf-blind consumers. The RERC has many ongoing R&D projects and collaborative relationships, both internal and external to Smith-Kettlewell. Primary funding for the RERC comes from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, with other important sources of support, including the National Eye Institute, and Smith-Kettlewell.
Tabs
Journal Articles
. (2020). Simple Vision Function Tests that Distinguish Eyes with Early to Intermediate Age-related Macular Degeneration. Ophthalmic Epidemiology, 10, 1-12. http://doi.org/10.1080/09286586.2020.1793371
. (2020). Simple Vision Function Tests that Distinguish Eyes with Early to Intermediate Age-related Macular Degeneration. Ophthalmic Epidemiology.
. (2018). Vision Function in Early to Intermediate AMD: Progression to Advanced AMD. Investigative Ophthalmology Vis. Sci., 59(9).
. (2017). How a diverse research ecosystem has generated new rehabilitation technologies: Review of NIDILRR's Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers. Journal Neuroengineering Rehab, 14, 109.
. (2017). Reading Performance in Intermediate Age-related Macular Degeneration: Context Effects. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 58(8), 4701.
. (2017). Vision function differs with retinal characteristics in AMD: large drusen with and without pigment abnormalities. Investigative Ophthalmology Vis. Sci., 58(8), 4708.
. (2016). Longitudinal Assessment of Non-standard Vision Function in Early to Intermediate AMD: Baseline Update. Investigative Ophthalmology Vis. Sci., 57(12), 624.
. (2015). Assessing Non-standard Vision Function in Early to Intermediate AMD. Investigative Ophthalmology Vis. Sci., 56.
. (2014). Comparison of Panel D-15 Tests in a large older population. Optometry And Vision Science, 91(3), 284-290.
. (2014). Longitudinal Increase in Anisometropia in Older Adults. Optometry And Vision Science, 91(1), 60-67.
. (2012). Acoustic cues used by blind travelers. Journal Of The Acoustical Society Of America, 131(4), 3516.
. (2012). Association between hearing and vision impairments in older adults. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt, 32(1), 45-52.
. (2012). Acoustic cues used by blind travelers. The Journal Of The Acoustical Society Of America, 131, 3516–3516.
. (2010). Monocular vs. Binocular Measurement of Spatial Vision in Elders. Optometry And Vision Science, 87(8), 526-531.
. (2010). Non-standard Vision Measures Predict Mortality in Elders: The Smith-Kettlewell Institute (SKI) Study. Ophthalmic Epidemiol, 17(4), 242-50.
. (2008). Dual Sensory Loss: Overview of Problems, Visual Assessment, and Rehabilitation. Trends In Amplification, 11, 219-26. http://doi.org/10.1177/1084713807307410
. (2008). A mobile phone system to find crosswalks for visually impaired pedestrians. Technology And Disability, 20, 217–224.
. (2008). Quality-of-life technology for vision and hearing loss [Highlights of Recent Developments and Current Challenges in Technology]. Ieee Engineering In Medicine And Biology Magazine, 27.
. (2006). Future Directions in Blindness and Low Vision Perspectives from a State-of-the-Science Conference. Visual Impairment Research, 8(3), 61-66. http://doi.org/10.1080/13882350601061984
. (2005). Face Recognition in the Elderly. Optometry And Vision Science, 82(10), 874-81. http://doi.org/10.1097/01.opx.0000180764.68737.91
. (2005). Night Driving Self-Restriction: Vision Function and Gender Differences. Optometry And Vision Science, 82, 755-64. http://doi.org/10.1097/01.opx.0000174723.64798.2b
. (2004). Functional vision: ‘Real world’ impairment examples from the SKI Study. Visual Impairment Research, 6(1), 35-44.
. (2004). Low contrast vision function predicts subsequent acuity loss in an aged population: The SKI study. Vision Research, 44, 2317-25. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2004.04.018
. (2003). Vision and Driving Self-Restriction in Older Adults. Journal Of The American Geriatrics Society, 51(10), 1348-55. http://doi.org/10.1046/j.1532-5415.2003.51482.x
. (2002). Is vision function related to physical functional ability in older adults?. Journal Of American Geriatric Society, 50, 136-145.
. (2002). Changes in Vision Function over time in an Older Population: the SKI Study. Investigative Ophthalmology Vis. Sci., 43, 4717.
. (2002). Predicting Visual Acuity Loss In An Older Population: The Ski Study. Investigative Ophthalmology Vis. Sci., 43, 3841.
. (2002). Development of Refractive Errors into Old Age. Optometry And Vision Science, 79(10), 643-9. http://doi.org/10.1097/00006324-200210000-00010
. (2002). Predicting declines in vision and vision performance in older individuals. The Fall Vision Meeting, Oct 24-27, 2002, San Francisco. Journal Of Vision, 2(10), 37-37.
. (2002). Reading performance in older adults: The SKI study. The Fall Vision Meeting, Oct 24-27, 2002, San Francisco. Journal Of Vision, 2(10), 36-36. http://doi.org/10.1167/2.10.36
. (2002). Some Projects from the Smith-Kettlewell RERC on Blindness and Low Vision. Resna News, 1, 5-5.
. (2001). New orientation and accessibility option for persons with visual impairment: transportation applications for remote infrared audible signage. Clinical And Experimental Optometry, 84(3), 120-131.
. (2001). Reading Performance in Older Adults with Good Acuity. Optometry And Vision Science, 78(5), 316-24.
. (2001). The Relation Between Visual Acuity and Other Spatial Vision Measures. Optometry And Vision Science, 77(12), 653-62. http://doi.org/10.1097/00006324-200012000-00012
. (2000). Visual Impairment in the Elderly under Real-World Viewing Conditions. Optometry And Vision Science, 77(12), 204.
. (2000). Visual impairments in elderly people under everyday viewing conditions. Journal Of Visual Impairment And Blindness, 94(12), 741-755.
. (2000). Ocular contributions to age-related loss in coarse stereopsis. Optometry And Vision Science, 77(10), 531-536.
. (1999). Remote infrared signage evaluation for transit stations and intersections. Journal Of Rehabilitation Research And Development, 36(4), 341-55.
. (1999). Seeing into Old Age: Vision Function Beyond Acuity. Optometry And Vision Science, 76(3), 141-58. http://doi.org/10.1097/00006324-199903000-00014
. (1997). Technology as a Support System for Orientation and Mobility. American Rehabilitation, 23(3), 26-30.
. (1997). The SKILL Card. An acuity test of reduced luminance and contrast. Smith-Kettlewell Institute Low Luminance. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 38(1), 207–218.
. (1994). Attentional Visual Fields: Age Changes and Relation to Driving. Investigative Ophthalmology Visual Science (Suppl.) , 35(1), 3225.
. (1994). Improving the Ergonomics of Popular Low Vision Telescopes. Journal Of Vision Rehabilitation, 8(1), 12-13.
. (1994). Rehabilitation Engineering Research in Blindness, Visual Impairment, and Multisensory Loss. Technology And Disability, 3(4), 266-282.
. (1994). Remote reading for visually impaired people: A new application for telecommunications. Technology And Disability, 3(3), 203-212. http://doi.org/10.3233/TAD-1994-3307
. (1992). Problems to be Overcome in High-Tech Devices for the Visually Impaired. Optometry And Vision Science, 69(1), 42-45. http://doi.org/10.1097/00006324-199201000-00006
. (1991). A Digitizing Touch-tablet/synthetic Speech Computer Interface. Ieee Engineering In Medicine And Biology, 13(4), 1833-1834. http://doi.org/10.1109/IEMBS.1991.684778
. (1990). The use of fax technology to address the reading needs of blind and visually impaired persons. Journal Of Visual Impairment And Blindness, 84, 509-513.
Conference Papers
. (2010). Accessible Geographical Information for People with Low Vision. In Proceedings of the CSUN 25th International Conference, San Diego, CA.
. (1995). Orientation and Navigation Systems for the Blind: An Overview of Different Approaches. In International Conference as Navigation Technology for the Blind (Keynote Paper). Royal National Institute for the Blind: U.K.
. (1993). Talking Signs®: A Remote Signage Solution for the Blind, visually Impaired and Reading Disabled. In Conference: Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 1993. Proceedings of the 15th Annual International Conference of the IEEE (pp. 1309 - 1310). http://doi.org/10.1109/IEMBS.1993.979150
. (1992). The Smith-Kettlewell auditory breakout box. In Conference: Computing Applications to Assist Persons with Disabilities, 1992., Proceedings of the Johns Hopkins National Search (pp. 173 - 176). http://doi.org/10.1109/CAAPWD.1992.217376
. (1992). Remote Reading Systems For The Blind: A Potential Application Of Virtual Presence. In Conference: Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 1992. Vol.14. Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE, Volume: 4 (pp. 1538-1539). http://doi.org/10.1109/IEMBS.1992.5761914
. (1989). Some practical vocational aids for the blind. In Conference: Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 1989. Images of the Twenty-First Century., Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Conference (Vol. 5, pp. 1502 - 1503). http://doi.org/10.1109/IEMBS.1989.96310
Other Publications
. (2021). The Unstoppable Utility of YouDescribe. Wireless RERC 2021 State of Technology Forum Proceedings. Date Published 09/2021.
. (2010). Assistive Technologies for the Blind. In Sage Encyclopedia of Perception (pp. 64-67). Goldstein, B. (Ed.) Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA.
. (2010). Sensory Rehabilitation. In Sage Encyclopedia of Perception (pp. 881-883). Goldstein, B. (Ed) Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA.
. (2008). Vision. In Lange, M (Ed.) Fundamentals in Assistive Technology: An Introduction in Assistiave Technology Implementation in the Lives of People with Disabilities (4th ed., pp. 293-311). Resna Press: Arlington, VA.
. (2007). Aids for people who are blind or visually impaired. In Cooper, RA, Ohnabe H, Hobson D, (Eds.) An Introduction to Rehabilitation Engineering (pp. 287-313). Taylor & Francis: New York.
. (2006). Sensory Aids. In Akay, M. (Ed), Wiley Encyclopedia of Biomedical Engineering. John Wiley & Sons: New Jersey.
. (2000). Signage and wayfinding. In Silverstone, Lang, Rosenthal & Faye (Eds), The Lighthouse Handbook on Visual Impairment and Vision Rehabilitation (Vol. 1–2). Oxford University Press: New York.
. Visual Impairment: Ergonomic Considerations in Blind and Low Vision Rehabilitation. In Kumar, S. (Ed.), Perspectives in Rehabilitation Ergonomics (Vol. 1). Taylor & Francis: London.
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center
The Center's research goal is to develop and apply new scientific knowledge and practical, cost-effective devices to better understand and address the real-world problems of blind, visually impaired, and deaf-blind consumers
Brabyn Lab
Together we address problems of blindness and visual impairment, particularly problems faced by our target populaiton that may be amenable to technological solutions.
Active
Active
The 3 Ps of 3D: Perception, Pedagogy, and Practice for 3D Printing
3D printing is increasingly used in STEM education. How can it be made accessible to students who are blind or visually impaired?
Active
Acoustic Cues for Wayfinding
This project aims to do a detailed analysis of the environmental acoustic cues that help some blind navigate successfully.
Completed
Completed
The Smith-Kettlewell Haptics Symposium
The Smith-Kettlewell Haptics Symposium was held on March 29, 2018 to honor and remember Dr. Val Morash and her research.
Inactive
Inactive
Reading, Vision Function and Disease Progression in Early to Intermediate AMD
Most prior research on reading in people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has focused on those with advanced disease. The first goal of this project is to examine the visual, motor, and cognitive factors that contribute to reading performance in people with early to...
Contact Information
Email:
brabyn@ski.org
Email:
brabyn@ski.org
Office Phone:
(415) 345-2110
Lab Phone:
(415) 345-2110
Mobile Phone:
(415) 345-2110
Fax:
(415) 345-2110
Links