Summary

Eligibility
for people ages 18 years and up (full criteria)
Location
at Los Angeles, California and other locations
Dates
study started
completion around
Principal Investigator
by Ava K Bittner, OD, PhD
Headshot of Ava K Bittner
Ava K Bittner

Description

Summary

One goal of this research is to conduct a non-inferiority trial of telerehabilitation versus in-office care to provide follow-up training to individuals with low vision to enhance their quality of life by using magnification devices and/or visual assistive mobile apps for important daily activities, such as reading and/or other valued tasks. This is a high priority given the increasing prevalence of low vision, paucity of low vision rehabilitation providers, and barriers related to access to care, such as transportation and geography, which can be essentially eliminated with telerehabilitation. Another goal of this project is to determine whether significant changes in environmental data collected by Bluetooth low energy beacon sensors can be used as a solution to monitor and indicate when low vision patients' have abandoned the use of their magnification devices, which has the potential to substantially enhance patient management by providing timely low vision rehabilitation services.

Keywords

Low Vision, Low Vision Aids, Low Vision Rehabilitation

Eligibility

You can join if…

Open to people ages 18 years and up

  • adults with any level of vision loss due to any ocular disease who are age 18 and older, and who have received new magnification device(s) for the first time (i.e., hand-held optical magnifiers, portable electronic video magnifiers, high near add powers of +4.00 or greater, visual assistive mobile apps for their smartphone/tablet, some stand magnifiers and CCTVs) from one of our participating low vision rehabilitation sites at the four academic centers and one private practice.

You CAN'T join if...

  • schedules not permitting participation in planned study visits (including planning to move far from their clinical provider's office within the first 4-months of the study (i.e., cannot attend in-office visits) or take extended vacation that would not allow them to complete study procedures during the first four months of the study period),
  • inability to understand study procedures or communicate responses to visual stimuli in a consistent manner (greater than mild cognitive impairment as per TICS),
  • substance abuse,
  • significant hearing loss (unable to hear communication by phone or via videoconferencing),
  • significant medical condition likely to limit participation or lifespan,
  • individuals who require other types of LVR training or intervention (e.g., psychosocial).
  • For Bluetooth low energy beacon sensors, exclusion would occur if their magnifier device has features that would not work in conjunction with the beacon sensors: (1) hands-free and do not have a place where the patient's hand is holding the device during use (therefore, they would not register a significant change in temperature), (2) no surface area of at least 1"x1" to which the beacon sensor could be attached without interfering with the device, or (3) use of visual assistive mobile apps only.

Locations

  • UCLA Stein Eye Institute accepting new patients
    Los Angeles California 90095 United States
  • See What You Miss Optometry not yet accepting patients
    Santa Monica California 90401 United States

Lead Scientist at UCLA

  • Ava K Bittner, OD, PhD
    Ava K, Bittner, O.D., Ph.D., held the Smotrich Family Optometric Clinician-Scientist Chair from 2/4/2019-2/3/2024.

Details

Status
accepting new patients
Start Date
Completion Date
(estimated)
Sponsor
University of California, Los Angeles
ID
NCT06107881
Study Type
Interventional
Participants
Expecting 350 study participants
Last Updated