Use of a collision warning device is associated with a reduced rate of contacts with obstacles in daily mobility among visually impaired persons, according to a study published in JAMA Ophthalmology. Researchers conducted a randomized clinical trial to assess the effect of a collision warning device on the number of contacts experienced by blind and visually impaired people in their daily mobility. The collision warning device was used during daily mobility over a 4- week period and automatically detected collision hazards using a chest-mounted video camera. The device randomly alternated between two modes: an active mode, which provided alerts for detected collision threats, and silent mode, in which collisions were detected but no warning was provided to the user. The researchers found that the median number of contacts was lower in the active versus the silent mode (9.3 vs 13.8 contacts, respectively). The rate of contacts was significantly lower in the active versus the silent mode after controlling for demographic characteristics, presence of visual acuity better than light perception, and fall history (ß = 0.63).

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