Chief Supervisor

Prof. Allen CHEONG

Project Title

Rehabilitative effect of different interventions on improving the mobility functions in patients with visual impairment 

Synopsis

Mobility and cognitive functions are critical factors for people to maintain their quality of their life. Since older adults are more prone to age-related eye diseases, various types of vision loss such as visual field limitation and reduced contrast sensitivity are unavoidable. Hence, many patients with visual impairment have some mobility problems such as slower walking speed and poorer balance compared to their normally sighted peers, resulting in higher rates of falls. With the increasing incidence of visual impairment in the world, these public health issues have gained people's attention.

The aims of my projects are to evaluate the effects of different interventions on improving the mobility function of visual impaired patients, such as action video games, physical training, and non-invasive brain stimulations. We will compare patients’ stride length, walking speed, stride velocity, base of support, and step length before and after the interventions to examine the effect of each training paradigm in patients with different types of vision loss. In addition to mobility function, we will also examine the impacts on their cognitive function. Findings of these projects will identify the optimal intervention to help people with visual impairment gain their functional performance, confidence of independence and enhance their quality of life.