Image pre-compensation to facilitate computer access for users with refractive errors

Computer technologies, frequently employed for everyday tasks, often use Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs), presented through monitors or LCD displays. This type of visual interface is not well suited for users with refractive visual limitations, particularly when they are severe and not correctable by common means. In order to facilitate computer access for users with refractive deficiencies, an algorithm has been developed, using a priori knowledge of the visual aberration, to generate on-screen images that counter the effect of the aberration. When the user observes the screen displaying a pre-compensated image, the image perceived in the retina will be similar to the original image. The algorithm was tested by artificially introducing a spherical aberration in the field of view of 14 subjects, totaling 28 individual eyes. This use of pre-compensation improves the visual performance of the subjects with respect to that achieved with no compensation.