The technology is advanced, but the device is easy to use!
For many years, conventional glass magnifiers have been a useful tool to see objects and text up close. Now, leading-edge electronics have enhanced this very useful instrument, making it an indispensable tool for persons with low vision. Once can choose from several models; here, we examine the RUBY from Freedom Scientific.
Hi-Tech but Easy to Use
Traditional and electronic magnifiers make text and graphics easier to see. The challenge is to ensure the enlarged image remains sharp.
With RUBY, a video camera projects high-resolution images onto a built-in 4-inch screen. The display’s high-brightness, full-color video enables the user to read text (e.g., a newspaper, medicine labels, and bills) much more easily and with a high degree of magnification. Writing letters and checks are no longer onerous tasks. The slim design of RUBY enables the user to carry it easily and unobtrusively to the grocery store, pharmacy, bank, library, or restaurant.
No doubt, the transition from a convex glass lens to a piece of sophisticated electronic wizardry can seem daunting. Freedom Scientific designed RUBY to be as easy to use as possible. A single button turns the device on. The next step is to place RUBY over text or an object, as one would with any magnifier. The versatility of RUBY allows the user to adjust enlargement to his or her preference with a simple zoom button. For reading text, RUBY can remain flat on the surface. To enlarge three-dimensional objects, one simply extracts the fold-away handle to hold the magnifier at the needed angle. RUBY does the rest, projecting the magnified image or text appears on the display screen. Another button enables the user to adjust the screen from full color for viewing pictures to any of four high-contrast text modes.
Features of Ruby
Even though RUBY can be held at various angles, the image on the screen is distortion free. Another useful item is Freeze Frame button, which allows the user to capture an image and bring it close for comfortable reading; he or she can even change the magnification on the still image. Because people with low vision see in a variety of ways, the image display is adjustable. Text and background color can be changed to individual needs or preferences. Four enhanced-contrast modes for allow for easier reading: black text on a white background, white text on a black background, yellow text on a blue background, or yellow text on a black background.
