Design of multispectral reading light for individuals with low vision

Multicolor multielement LED luminaries have wide applications in decorative, display, and medical domain etc. It can provide light with variable intensity and spectral content. One such application of designing of multispectral reading light for patients having low visual acuities is reported here. Paper describes microcontroller based reading light system for such patients. Mechanical, electronic, and optical assemblies required for the system are explained with more focus on optical assembly. Number of LEDs, their relative placement, spatial and spectral characteristics of individual and source to target plane distance decide spatial and spectral uniformity of illumination. Fabricated luminaire consists of 90 low power LEDs of red, orange, yellow, green, and aqua arranged in six rows. The reading plane can be illuminated with variable intensity and color by changing current through LEDs. These values are adjusted and stored according to comfort level of individual patient.