# Beacon Sensors and Telerehabilitation to Assess and Improve use of Devices (BeST-AID) for Low Vision > **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2024 · $170,541 ## 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 LV 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 to reassure LV providers that either modality is acceptable. This NIH Diversity Supplement aims to provide a clinical research experience with related training for the candidate with a doctorate in occupational therapy to become involved in the non-inferiority trial that we are conducting. The primary goal of the non-inferiority trial is to determine 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. In addition to the optimized task-specific training component of the non-inferiority trial, the Diversity Supplement aims to evaluate how enhanced intervention approaches (i.e., habit training and motivational interviewing administered by the candidate) in both telerehabilitation and in-office settings impact participants’ acceptability and utilization of LV aids. Another aim in this NIH Diversity Supplement is to develop and implement a training protocol specifically for visually impaired patients to improve their access to electronic health records and healthcare resources through patient portals. We will evaluate the efficacy of the training provided by occupational therapists to enhance low vision patients’ health literacy and independence with health management. This study will focus on the Epic healthcare web-based and mobile app portals at ophthalmologic academic centers. We will evaluate visually impaired patients’ proficiency with patient portal access and health literacy pre- and post-training, as well as document any reoccurring barriers to accessibility. Based on our findings, we will develop and disseminate deliverables to support patient portal access for low vision patients. We will collaborate with Epic IT leadership by providing recommendations to resolve pa... ## Key facts - **NIH application ID:** 11077565 - **Project number:** 3R01EY034627-02S1 - **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES - **Principal Investigator:** AVA K BITTNER - **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.) - **Funding institute:** NIH - **Fiscal year:** 2024 - **Award amount:** $170,541 - **Award type:** 3 - **Project period:** 2023-09-30 → 2026-06-30 ## Primary source NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11077565 ## Citation > US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11077565, Beacon Sensors and Telerehabilitation to Assess and Improve use of Devices (BeST-AID) for Low Vision (3R01EY034627-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11077565. Licensed CC0. --- *[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*