Retiplus is the first low vision aid that expands the visual field and improves the quality of life of those who have lost part of their peripheral vision from retinitis pigmentosa, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, optic neuropathies, and people who have hemianopsia as well as those who have suffered ischemic attacks, meningioma in the optic nerve, brain tumor and aneurysms.
It is an innovative and easy-to-use system that can offer a more complete and clear picture of the environment to people who have any form of low peripheral vision (tunnel vision, hemianopsies, etc.) facilitating their movement and everyday life.
Retiplus takes advantage of augmented reality technologies by combining the smart glasses that now accompany many recreational activities with a specially designed software. At first glance, the Epson glasses used by the system do not appear to differ from those used in various video games or drones. Their function, however, is specially adapted to the needs of low vision in order to enlarge and “complement” the visual field.
What Retiplus offers
Wearing them, the user immediately acquires in real time an expanded image of the space, so that he can identify obstacles to move comfortably and safely.
At the same time, through their remote control, it can increase the brightness when moving in dimly lit spaces or “zoom” to bring a point or object closer.
It can also see space in “negative”, illuminating the contours of objects on a dark background to make them better visible (this feature has been shown to be particularly helpful in movement, especially when one has to go up and down stairs or move indoors).
Retiplus customized settings
The equipment consists of EPSON’s MOVERIO smart glasses, filters with different gradations that can be integrated into the frame and a tablet operated by the expert optometrist to make the necessary adjustments according to the needs of each user.
Through the tablet, the specialist first identifies the areas of the retina that are less burdened and adjusts the two screens of the glasses to project images to these areas. Then, essentially “seeing” through the patient’s eyes, the optometrist can, depending on the needs of each user, enlarge or reduce the image and adjust various parameters of the video, such as brightness or contrast for a better final result. In addition to the basic setting, the specialist can also “load” on the glasses differently configured images that the user can easily use through the remote control depending on the activity he wants to perform each time – e.g. walking in open spaces, watching theater, reading, etc.
At the same time, the specialist optometrist can “load” to the glasses different exercises, specially adapted for each user, in order to gradually improve his visual ability. The software retains in its memory the history of use so that the specialist can monitor the patient’s progress and regularly adjust the system according to his improvement.
In clinical trials conducted in many hospitals in Spain, patients reported a significant improvement in their quality of life thanks to Retiplus. Not only did they experience an increase in the range of their visual field, but by using the system their brains appeared to be “trained” to see a more enlarged image without the aid.
Internationally recognized and awarded
Retiplus was developed by Spanish researchers with co-funding from the European Union under the Horizon 2020 program. It was released in just three countries, including Greece.
The system is highly specialized and can only be applied by a trained specialist optometrist, which is currently only available in ten centers in the world.
The center for special vision problems of Skoutari optical is one of them, with exclusive responsibility for Greece and Cyprus.
Features
2 screens Si OLED
Field of view: 23°
Number of pixels: 921.600
Operating system: Android 5.1
Display operating frequency: 30Hz
Camera: 5 million pixels
Memory: 16 GB
Glasses dimensions: 181mm x 194mm x 31mm (width x length x height )
Glasses weight: 119 gr
Remote control dimensions: 116mm x 56mm x 23mm (width x length x height)
Remote control weight: 129 gr