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Fonts Designed for Macular Degeneration: Impact on Reading

PURPOSE: People with macular degeneration (MD) experience difficulties in reading due to central-field loss. Two new fonts, Eido and Maxular Rx, have been designed specifically for individuals with MD. We have compared reading performance of these new fonts with three mainstream fonts (Times-Roman,...

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Autores principales: Xiong, Ying-Zi, Lorsung, Ethan A., Mansfield, John Stephen, Bigelow, Charles, Legge, Gordon E.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6100668/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30128489
http://dx.doi.org/10.1167/iovs.18-24334
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author Xiong, Ying-Zi
Lorsung, Ethan A.
Mansfield, John Stephen
Bigelow, Charles
Legge, Gordon E.
author_facet Xiong, Ying-Zi
Lorsung, Ethan A.
Mansfield, John Stephen
Bigelow, Charles
Legge, Gordon E.
author_sort Xiong, Ying-Zi
collection PubMed
description PURPOSE: People with macular degeneration (MD) experience difficulties in reading due to central-field loss. Two new fonts, Eido and Maxular Rx, have been designed specifically for individuals with MD. We have compared reading performance of these new fonts with three mainstream fonts (Times-Roman, Courier, and Helvetica). METHODS: Subjects with MD (n = 19) and normally sighted subjects (n = 40) were tested with digital versions of the MNREAD test using the five fonts. Maximum reading speed (MRS), critical print size (CPS), and reading acuity (RA) were estimated to characterize reading performance. Physical properties of the fonts were quantified by interletter spacing and perimetric complexity. RESULTS: Reading with MD showed font differences in MRS, CPS, and RA. Compared with Helvetica and Times, Maxular Rx permitted both smaller CPS and RA, and Eido permitted smaller RA. However, the two new fonts presented no advantage over Courier. Spacing, but not Complexity, was a significant predictor of reading performance for subjects with MD. CONCLUSIONS: The two fonts, designed specifically for MD, permit smaller print to be read, but provide no advantage over Courier.
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spelling pubmed-61006682018-08-21 Fonts Designed for Macular Degeneration: Impact on Reading Xiong, Ying-Zi Lorsung, Ethan A. Mansfield, John Stephen Bigelow, Charles Legge, Gordon E. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci Low Vision PURPOSE: People with macular degeneration (MD) experience difficulties in reading due to central-field loss. Two new fonts, Eido and Maxular Rx, have been designed specifically for individuals with MD. We have compared reading performance of these new fonts with three mainstream fonts (Times-Roman, Courier, and Helvetica). METHODS: Subjects with MD (n = 19) and normally sighted subjects (n = 40) were tested with digital versions of the MNREAD test using the five fonts. Maximum reading speed (MRS), critical print size (CPS), and reading acuity (RA) were estimated to characterize reading performance. Physical properties of the fonts were quantified by interletter spacing and perimetric complexity. RESULTS: Reading with MD showed font differences in MRS, CPS, and RA. Compared with Helvetica and Times, Maxular Rx permitted both smaller CPS and RA, and Eido permitted smaller RA. However, the two new fonts presented no advantage over Courier. Spacing, but not Complexity, was a significant predictor of reading performance for subjects with MD. CONCLUSIONS: The two fonts, designed specifically for MD, permit smaller print to be read, but provide no advantage over Courier. The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology 2018-08 /pmc/articles/PMC6100668/ /pubmed/30128489 http://dx.doi.org/10.1167/iovs.18-24334 Text en Copyright 2018 The Authors http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
spellingShingle Low Vision
Xiong, Ying-Zi
Lorsung, Ethan A.
Mansfield, John Stephen
Bigelow, Charles
Legge, Gordon E.
Fonts Designed for Macular Degeneration: Impact on Reading
title Fonts Designed for Macular Degeneration: Impact on Reading
title_full Fonts Designed for Macular Degeneration: Impact on Reading
title_fullStr Fonts Designed for Macular Degeneration: Impact on Reading
title_full_unstemmed Fonts Designed for Macular Degeneration: Impact on Reading
title_short Fonts Designed for Macular Degeneration: Impact on Reading
title_sort fonts designed for macular degeneration: impact on reading
topic Low Vision
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6100668/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30128489
http://dx.doi.org/10.1167/iovs.18-24334
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