# Beacon Sensors and Telerehabilitation to Assess and Improve use of Devices (BeST-AID) for Low Vision

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2023 · $426,937

## Abstract

Project Summary or Abstract
The successful application of magnification devices for reading and daily tasks is predicated on their correct use
by individuals with low vision (LV). Barriers related to transportation, geography, and/or health-related concerns
often limit LV patients’ ability to attend several in-office training sessions as part of low vision rehabilitation (LVR)
to optimize visual function with magnification devices. A promising solution is real-time videoconferencing to
provide telerehabilitation, involving remotely delivered LVR services by a LVR provider in-office to a patient at
home. Telerehabilitation for LV appears to be feasible and acceptable by both patients and LVR providers, with
preliminary evidence that its efficacy for enhancing reading ability may be similar to in-office LVR. However, it
has not yet been fully demonstrated whether telerehabilitation is at least as effective as in-office usual care for
LV follow-ups. This would be critical information for LV providers for reassurance that either modality is
acceptable. Another key issue in LVR is the need for an effective system to continually assess how patients are
functioning at home. Ideally this would involve a non-invasive, efficient method to assess when magnifier device
abandonment occurs, so that a timely telerehabilitation session can be initiated. Bluetooth low energy (BLE)
beacon sensors attached to the handles of magnifiers can collect longitudinal data regarding environmental
changes, which might serve as a helpful indicator of magnifier use patterns by LV patients at home.
 Specifically, we propose to conduct a randomized non-inferiority trial of the potential for telerehabilitation to
enhance visual ability by providing remotely-delivered LVR training to use magnification devices and/or visual
assistive mobile apps in comparison to in-office usual care LVR. This will provide an evidence basis for whether
the effects of two interventions are not clinically and statistically different from each other. This is important to
determine if a novel service delivery mode (i.e., telerehabilitation), that might be safer, more resource efficient,
convenient, may improve adherence and/or access to care, is at least as effective as a more established
approach (i.e., in-office) with proven effectiveness. We aim to show how telehealth services can be made readily
accessible to those with LV, as well as the value of annual follow-ups via telerehabilitation. We will determine
whether BLE beacon sensor data are valid indicators of hand-held optical magnifier usage by LV patients at
home. We anticipate that beacon sensors attached to hand-held optical magnifiers will measure increased
temperature and/or humidity when motion is detected. Beacon sensor data will determine if it is feasible to
remotely assess when magnifiers are used or abandoned, and if their frequency of use changes following
telerehabilitation or in-office LVR.
 We envision that telerehabilitation can im...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10736559
- **Project number:** 1R01EY034627-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** AVA K BITTNER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $426,937
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-09-30 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10736559

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10736559, Beacon Sensors and Telerehabilitation to Assess and Improve use of Devices (BeST-AID) for Low Vision (1R01EY034627-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10736559. Licensed CC0.

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