ReadClear: An Assistive Reading Tool for People Living with Posterior Cortical Atrophy

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Ophthalmology
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) causes progressive reading impairment due to deteriorating visual processing.
• Reading difficulties, such as losing one's place or skipping words, are debilitating symptoms in PCA.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of ReadClear, a co-designed reading application for people with PCA.
• To determine if ReadClear improves subjective reading experience and reading accuracy.

Main Methods:

• A cross-over, home-based study involving twenty participants with PCA.
• Comparison of ReadClear against a sham e-reader condition.
• Assessment of subjective reading pleasantness and objective reading accuracy (error reduction).

Main Results:

• ReadClear significantly enhanced subjective reading pleasantness compared to the sham condition (p=0.018).
• The app substantially reduced reading errors (p<0.0001), particularly omissions, repetitions, and regressions.
• Specific reading error types correlated with distinct neuropsychological profiles.

Conclusions:

• ReadClear effectively assists individuals with PCA in their reading tasks.
• The application improves reading accuracy and the overall subjective reading experience for users with PCA.