Blind as a bat? This App could actually improve your eyesight !
OK as a visually challenged geek I was fascinated to hear about this app. Created by a neuroscientist in the University of California, this app can improve your eyesight by encouraging you to develop everyday tasks by sharpening vision and boosting your ability to see in dim light.
UltimEyes, available on iOS at about €5.99 approx., asks users to complete a series of tasks, such as clicking on hard-to-see targets, effectively rewiring the brain to process the information it receives from the eyes. It keeps the users’ attention with positive reinforcement in the form of a point system.
An app created by a University of California neuroscientist can improve users’ eyesight to help them perform everyday tasks by their sharpening vision and boosting their ability to see in dim light.
Seitz tested the app’s effectiveness on 19 UCR baseball players. Each athlete used UltimEyes 30 times for 25-minute intervals, resulting in an average 31 percent increase in eyesight, according to a study published in the journal Current Biology. Out of the 19 total players seven reached 20/7.5 vision, meaning they could see at 20 feet what someone with normal vision could from 7.5 feet.
Strikeouts from the 11 players who competed in both the 2012 and 2013 seasons decreased by 4.4 percent compared to other players in the Big West Conference whose rate went down less than one percent. Among other benefits, the athletes reported being able to see the ball better, improved peripheral vision and that their eyes didn’t tire as easily. Everyday users with impaired vision who have used UltimEyes may have an easier time with activities such as reading, driving or watching TV.
“We’re encouraged and excited by the broad range of lifestyle benefits that many individuals who rely on vision, including athletes, but also those with normal vision and low vision going about their routine tasks,” Adam Goldberg, CEO of Carrot Technology, said in a statement.
As mentioned above I have TERRIBLE vision so I’m pretty excited to see if this works on me !
