Introduction: A Closer Look: Assistive Technology That Chunks and Magnifies Text

Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury read books to increase the functional and social nature of their reading comprehension. Being able to read on their own without assistance not only helps their understanding but also their confidence. Currently, they find it difficult to read as the font sizes are too small and need help in tracking a certain number of words at a time.

Our motivation is to make their overall lifestyle better by creating an assistive technology that will help them read and regain that confidence more easily.

While designing this assistive technology, many factors shown in the requirements document, and many iterations were made.

Competitor Analysis:

Mag Light

  • An app that magnifies and brightens text to make reading easier
  • Rated 4.6 stars on the app store
  • Cost: Free to download, $1.99 to upgrade
  • Pros: Adjusts font size, can use anywhere
  • Cons: Intrusive ads, does not chunk text, requires a mobile device, upgrades cost money, only available for Apple

Hands-Free Magnifying Glass

  • A lighted table that uses a magnifying glass to enlarge textCost: $17.95 on Amazon
  • Pros: Can be hung around the neck or stand-alone
  • Cons: Full-page magnifier, cannot adjust the font size, no word tracking ability

Magnifying Glass Lamp

  • A self-standing lamp with an incorporated magnifying glass
  • Cost: $34.99 on Amazon
  • Pros: Attachable to different locations, illuminates area being read
  • Cons: Set magnifications, book or light needs to be moved while reading, cannot chunk text, needs to be plugged in

Attachments

Supplies

Step 1: Making the Magnifying Bar Slider

  • Insert the magnifying bar into the 3D-printed slider
  • Make sure the bar is not at an angle when inside the slider
  • Glue the magnifying bar in the slider securely with epoxy
    • Make sure to only apply to the side of the magnifying bar and the inner wall of the slider
  • Let it dry overnight

Step 2: Creating the Complete Slider System

  • Put one aluminum rod through the slider with magnifying bar
  • On either end of the rod, put a stopper
  • Repeat this process for the slider system on the other side

Step 3: Attaching the Board and Slider Systems

  • Set the board down upside down
  • Place the stoppers upside down on the board
    • To make assembly easier, make the bar is flipped open and out of the way
  • Then put two screws on the bottom of each stopper to secure the slider system to the board

Step 4: Using the Device

  • Open the two magnifying bars open and place the magazine
  • Close the magnifying bars on the magazine
  • Slide the magnifier up and down the page as you read
  • When needing to flip the page, open the magnifying bars, flip the page, and continue reading

Maintenance

  • No maintenance required
  • If parts separate from each other, glue them back together and let it set fully before using again
  • Parts in this design cannot be replaced very easily, but the future extensions section has ideas that may help with making this device more customizable

Improvements and Extensions

  • To make the magnifier applicable to other types of books with various thicknesses, a similar stopper can be made with the rod sitting higher above the board
  • Easily replaceable or adjustable stoppers can be made so that any book size can be read
    • Some ways to make it replaceable: have screws or easily removable pins that hold the stoppers in place
  • If the stoppers can be removed, then the magnifying slider can also be removed easily, which would allow users to put different magnification bars as necessary

References