05/13/08

NOTE:  Some of these devices are not new this year but they should be mentioned to each veteran as being available at your local VA or by the Augusta Blind Rehabilitation Center.  NOTE:  This is not a complete listing of devices offered.  Ask your VIST Coordinator,, Terry Thorne, Karen Petty, or Todd Turansky.  Each product is under area of interest.  Click on desired link.

Area of Interest Links

• Living Skills

• Manual Skills

• Visual Skills

• Old Tricks/New Approach

• New Tech Note

• Activities of Daily Living 

• Additional Prosthetics Available

 Living Skills

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The Kurzweil—National Federation of the Blind Reader

• Reads most printed documents, from letters and memos to pages in a book
• Reads address labels and package information and instructions
• Reads an entire page or a few lines for identification
• Stores thousands of printed pages with easily obtainable extra memory
• Transfers files to desktop and laptop computers or Braille notetakers
• Reads documents from computers or other devices

Imagine how the Reader will change your life. A colleague hands you a document for review in the next hour. No problem. You come back from vacation to an overflowing in-basket? Put the Reader to work, and the clutter is gone. Need to check your seat assignment in the airport? The information is a click away.  Issuance of this device is determined on a case by case basis.  Ask your VIST Coordinator.
 

                          TALKING NAME & NUMBER CALLER ID

                          VoiceAnnounce® Caller ID Model 9900CW

Announces and displays caller's NAME or 10-digit telephone number when the phone rings, and for call waiting calls.  Alerts other household members to a call waiting call.  Announces "Number Unknown" (usually telemarketers) and "Number Blocked" when people block their caller ID.  Stores 99 calls for review.  Dial back.  New call and message waiting light.  Operates on 9VAC adapter included.

Manual Skills –

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·        Talking tape measure

·        Stud Finder (talking)

·        Audible Clip Ruler

·        Audible Leveler

·        Table Saw (Don’t cut off finger safety device)

Visual Skills –

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           Quicklook is a hand-held, full color, electronic magnifier with an integrated 4" (10.2 cm) TFT display. It can magnify text, photos and maps or just about anything. It's small enough to fit in a jacket pocket or a ladies' handbag, but big enough to make a difference. If regular print is too small to read, Quicklook can help.

Features:

•        Lightweight and portable - only 300 grams (10 ounces).

•        No monitor needed – it's built-in!

•        Enhanced contrast modes (black/white and white/black) for better readability of text.

•        Use it as you would use a magnifying glass – it can be orientated in any direction.

•        Signing cheques and making notes are all possible due to the tiltable camera.

•        Magnification up to X5.5.

•        Overview and close-up possible.

Suggested uses:

•        Anything that needs magnifying and/or enhancement. If it is too small or too dark to see with a magnifying glass, Quicklook will help.

•        Read the instructions on a medicine bottle, the menu in your favorite restaurant, the ingredients and prices on cans in the shops or even the time on your watch.

•        You can read the bus or train timetable at the bus stop, through the plastic.       

•        Read LCD displays as on your phone or calculator.

•        Look at your cookbook and recipes where you like, in the kitchen and while you're working.

•        Check your handcraft or embroidering.         

Optelec Compact Color Portable Video Magnifier. Lightweight and portable, the Optelec Compact handheld electronic magnifier is the very latest in low vision technology. Designed for your active lifestyle, the Compact easily fits into your purse, schoolbag, or briefcase, bringing life into focus when you are on the go. With up to 8x magnification, reading a menu, checking your airline ticket, or signing a check are all now possible when carrying the Compact. Using the Compact is simple - just take it out of the case open the camera - it turns on automatically. Featuring a 4" color LCD screen, text and pictures are vividly displayed in true color, black and white and reverse. There are even blue/ yellow and black/ yellow options for easier discrimination. With a 2 hour rechargeable battery and convenient carrying case, the Compact is ready to go wherever you are.
 

Features:

• Superior Image Quality

• 4x and 8x magnification modes

• 4" Full Color LCD Screen

• Black and white, and reverse mode

• Writing capability

• Additional foreground and background color combinations

• 2 hour rechargeable battery

• Weight: 10 ounces

• Convenient carrying case / neck strap

Suggessted Uses:

• No more ordering 'the special' because you can't see the menu...

• Make sure you get credit for your coupons at the grocery store...

• Check the nutritional content on a food label...

• Read to your grandchildren again...

• Review your mail and make sure the bills are correct

• Check your prescriptions and be sure of what you are taking.

• Read the map in the car and get there even when he won't ask for directions!

ICON - Introducing the Icon™ plus Docking Station —the revolutionary leap in
fully-loaded mobile manager and notetaker for the visually impaired. Engineered
with a two-part design, the Icon can be in your hand like a PDA, or, when
plugged-in to the Docking Station, it can be on your lap or desk as a notetaker.
Either way, it's super-powerful, packed with applications and has a 40GB hard
drive to store thousands of digital books and songs and dozens of your favorite
audio books.

Features of Mobile Manager:

• Memory - Store thousands of digital books and songs with the 40GB hard drive—which far exceeds other PDA’s for the visually impaired. Students especially love being able to store all of their books for an entire year in one place.

• Life-managing Software Applications

• The Icon comes with the software applications you need pre-installed.  You'll have everything you need, wherever you go.

• Calendar – Store all your important appointments in one place and take them with you.

• Address Book – Always have access to phone numbers, email and web addresses for your contacts.  And, easily sync-up your address book and calendar with Microsoft Outlook^®.

• Web Browser – Surf the Internet with ease even when you're on-the-go.  With a WiFi^® wireless connection and an easy-to-use web browser, the Icon keeps you connected.

• Email – Being in touch never has to stop when you have an Icon.  When you're near a WiFi hotspot, you can easily send and receive email.

• Word processor – Take your documents with you, or write them on the road.  The Icon's intuitive and user-friendly word processor works with Microsoft^® Word compatible documents.

• Music Player – Put your favorite artists in the palm of your hand with the Icon MP3 player. You can store thousands of songs, categorized by artist, title, album, or genre.

• Pod Cast –With the Icon, it's easy to download and listen to pod casts, or even record your own.

• Voice Recorder – You never have to forget a detail with the Icon voice recorder handy. The digital sound gives you a high quality recording of lectures, or your own personal memos.

• Journal – Record the events of your day through your calendar or post your entries to a web blog.

• Clock – Get the time of day at the push of a button.

• Stopwatch – When you need to time an event, the Icon provides a handy stopwatch.

• Calculator – Calculations are a snap with the Icon.

• Empowering library options

• The Icon enables you to take books, newspapers and periodicals with you.  The library options include:

• Book Player – Play thousands of Daisy text books and dozens of audio books stored on your hard drive.

• Bookshare Support – Get the books you want easily and automatically.  Simply select the book you want to read and press enter.

• Subscription-based Periodicals – Listen to subscription-based newspapers and magazines on your way to work, or anytime you choose, through Bookshare's Newsline*.

• Anytime Internet Access

• Whether you are at your desk or on the go you can connect to the Internet. The Icon has built in WiFi for wireless connection when you're in range of a hotspot. When plugged-in to the Docking Station you have Ethernet or a dial-up modem.

• Wireless Features Built-in

• For easy, portable Internet access and wireless headset compatibility:

• Bluetooth^® 1.1 wireless
  Wi-Fi^® 802.11b wireless

Features for Notetaker:

Engineered with a two-part design, simply snap the Icon into the Braille or QWERTY Docking Station that enables you to:

• Take notes comfortably.

• Perform full-capability word processing.

• Web browse extensively.

• Read and write email when you're on the go.

Old Tricks/New Approach:

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•         Use of Eccentric Viewing (practice, reinforce, re-evaluate).  Use of the eccentric viewing [off center viewing direction] can offer the best visual function improvement.  We have recently had two graduates that doubled their visual function with only the use of eccentric viewing techniques.

•         Use of Large Print Materials can make reading easier due to easier formatting and less visual clutter with extra graphics and colors.  One must simply ask for the availability or provision of materials in large print format, special requests.  We now have the Large Print Bible on contract

•         Use of Reading Stands can improve reading duration due to improved posture for endurance and comfort

•         Use of optimal Illumination will reduce improve contrast enhancement.  One must remember to consider illumination reflection, glare and effects of cataracts

***New Low Tech:

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         Ott lights are new full spectrum lights.  Many appreciate the contrast enhancement and portability these lights offer.

•         New LED illumination options.  Eschenbach offers LED illumination in hand held magnifiers and stand magnifiers.  Power Mag brand offers a wide variety of LED colors for contrast enhancement including white, yellow, blue, and plum.  These LED lights are appreciated for contrast enhancement capability and the longer life of the bulbs.

•         Many veterans appreciate the TV screen magnifier for television viewing instead of the spectacle mounted binoculars due to the full field of view even at close viewing distances.  However, this device only offers approximately 2x magnification.  It also does not allow others in the room to view from a wide range of angles due to the nature of the screen positioning in front of the television monitor.

•         The Magnisight Company that holds the VA contract for CCTV is now offering the Flat screen CCTV in the 17” model.  Some of the 20” models that have arrived through BROS also offer a flat screen [keep in mind that this is flat screen and not flat panel TV monitors].  The flat screen offers a reduction in glare from ambient room lighting from overhead lights or windows in the room.

Activities of Daily Living:

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ColorTest II Talking Color Analyzer

ColorTest II is an upgraded model of a hand-held device that helps you distinguish colors independently. It uses a clear human voice to announce the color of any object placed in contact with its sensitive detector.

ColorTest II has been redesigned and uses the latest technology to improve its performance over the previous model. It can now distinguish over 1,000 nuances of color and has additional features, such as talking clock, calendar, and thermometer.

Features:

• Senses over 1,000 nuances of color.

• Speaks in a clear, human voice.

• Talking clock, calendar, timer, thermometer, and three games: dice, roulette, and bingo.

• Three operation buttons.

• Built-in speaker.

• Earphone jack and holes to accommodate a neck loop make portable use easier (earphone not included).

• Built-in rechargeable battery with talking battery status.

• Auto-off to save battery life.

Suggested Uses

• Select your own wardrobe -- determine the color of a shirt or find out if it is bright, dark, plain, or patterned.

• Search for a product according to the color of its packaging.

• Differentiate a ripe fruit or vegetable from an unripe one.

• In an office setting differentiate such items as colored folders,

• forms, or disks.

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