Abstract
Purpose :
The purpose of this prospective study was to assess patient-reported quality of life outcomes in severely visually impaired (SVI) individuals using the Aira system over a 1-year follow-up period.
Methods :
The Aira service is an on-demand assistive wearable technology designed for SVI individuals. The user wears glasses with a video camera mounted that, when activated, livestreams to a certified “agent” who assists the user in a specified task. Aira subscribers were recruited and administered the previously validated 28 item Impact of Vision Impairment-Very Low Vision (IVI-VLV) Questionnaire by phone prior to starting Aira with follow-ups at 3 months and 1 year. Total score as well as validated subset scores of activities of daily living, mobility, and safety (ADLMS) and emotional well-being (EWB) were assessed. We extend upon the results of Nguyen et al. [TVST 7(5), 2018] to determine whether the demonstrated improvement in IVI-VLV total score and ADLMS and EWB sub-scores at 3-month follow-up is durable at 1-year follow-up. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to examine the data.
Results :
A total of 50 participants (mean age 52.5 ± 13.6, 25 males, 25 females) were recruited with a mean of 401 days to follow-up. Mean total minutes used over 1-year period was 1177 ± 1123. Assessing with paired t-test, initial total score (mean 53.1 ± 18.9) significantly improved at 1-year (mean 63.1 ± 16.2) (p=0.0002). There was no significant difference between 3-month total score (mean 63.2 ± 14.5) and 1-year (mean 63.1 ± 16.2) (p=0.972). Initial ADLMS score (mean 30.7 ± 11.3) significantly improved at 1-year (mean 37.2 ± 10.7) (p=0.001). There was no significant difference between 3-month ADLMS score (mean 37.1 ± 8.7) and 1-year (p=0.897). Initial EWB score (mean 22.5 ± 8.5) significantly improved at 1-year (mean 25.9 ± 8.0) (p=0.0001). There was no significant difference between 3-month EWB score (mean 26.1 ± 7.5) and 1-year (p=0.700). There was a significant correlation between minutes used and improvement in total (r=0.371, p=0.009), ADLMS (r=0.302, p=0.035), and EWB (r=0.439, p=0.002) scores from initial questionnaire to 1 year.
Conclusions :
Aira use significantly improves IVI-VLV total score and the ADLMS and EWB sub-scores for SVI individuals long-term. This improvement is correlated with total minutes used.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.