NCT07442461

Virtual Assistance for Daily Living: Neurophysiological and Functional Effects in Low Vision

Effects of Visual Impairment on Neurophysiological Responses and the Feasibility and Impact of Multimodal Virtual Assistance for Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Low Vision Populations

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 150 (estimated)
• Sponsor: NYU Langone Health · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 80 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study aims to investigate how visual impairment affects neurophysiological and biomechanical responses during real-world navigation and daily activities, with a focus on the rehabilitative feasibility and impact of assistive technologies. These technologies include applications and wearable devices designed to support various aspects of daily living for individuals with visual impairment. The VIS4ION platform (Visually Impaired Smart Service System for Spatial Intelligence \& On-board Navigation), a wearable system providing tactile and auditory feedback, is one component of this broader study. VIS4ION is designed to enhance environmental awareness and reduce cognitive load during mobility tasks for the visually impaired.

Detailed description

Participants with low vision and matched controls will complete walking, navigation, information gathering, and object identification / reaching tasks in both controlled laboratory and real-world environments. Throughout these tasks, physiological measures (e.g., electrodermal activity, heart rate, brain activity, eye movements), biomechanical data (e.g., gait, posture, limb movements), and cognitive metrics will be collected. VIS4ION will be specifically evaluated for its potential to improve the low vision users' scene understanding, navigation efficiency, increase physical activity (e.g., step count, moderate-equivalent minutes), and contribute to improved outcomes in terms of health, awareness, cognitive load, and safety. Study tasks include obstacle negotiation, dual-task walking, and object identification / reaching under varying conditions (indoor vs. outdoor; with vs. without VIS4ION). A subset of participants will use VIS4ION over extended periods to assess its impact on activities in daily life in real-world settings.

Conditions

• Visual Impairment

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	VIS4ION Platform	The VIS4ION platform, a non-invasive wearable and smartphone-based system providing auditory (bone-conduction headphones) and haptic (wristband/belt) feedback to enhance mobility and daily living for people with blindness or low vision.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-03-01
• Primary completion: 2028-12-30
• Completion: 2028-12-30
• First posted: 2026-03-02
• Last updated: 2026-03-02

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated device study