New ergonomic stand magnifiers

Abstract

Background: Stand magnifiers are not satisfactory for reading and other near visual requirements for many low vision patients.

Methods: Four new stand magnifiers have been developed with ergonomic advantages such as a comfortable viewing angle, the capacity for both reading and writing, better illumination, a wider field of view, variable power and magnification, and a longer working distance. The four new stand magnifiers are a spherical mirror magnifier, a cylindrical mirror magnifier, a reflecting prism magnifier, and a zoom magnifier. These magnifiers were tested on 39 subjects from five low vision clinics and compared to a commercial stand magnifier. The study determined reading speed and subject preference for these magnifiers.

Results: The reading speed of subjects with the new magnifiers increased over time and there was a significant change in preference over time. Results showed that 29 out of the 39 subjects on the final day of testing picked one of the new magnifiers as their device of choice. Reading speeds were comparable overall on all devices except for the cylindrical magnifier which was somewhat less.

Conclusions: These four new ergonomically designed magnifiers were preferred by low vision patients compared to a commercial stand magnifier.