Black & Lizars partners with OrCam Technologies

OrCam Technologies’ assistive technology aids will be made available to patients of Scottish eye care group, Black & Lizars, following a newly-announced partnership.

From January 2022, the OrCam MyEye and OrCam Read devices will be available for patients in Black & Lizars practices in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The assistive devices are designed to support patents with visual impairments and can be used to read aloud text from printed surfaces or digital screens in real-time.

The OrCam MyEye is a wearable assistive device that reads aloud text and recognises faces and products to provide increased independence to people who are blind or partially sighted.

Orcam Read is a handheld reader that can be used to read aloud text from printed and digital surfaces and was developed specifically for users with dyslexia, mild to moderate low vision, and reading fatigue.

John Hare, director at Black & Lizars, suggested partnering with OrCam enables the group to offer its patients “a complete vision solution.”

“The technologies from OrCam do not amplify residual vision but rather increase independence by allowing anyone with a visual impairment to access the visual world around them – including text from any surface, people’s faces, and consumer products,” Hare explained.

Irie Meltzer, UK regional director at OrCam, commented: “When low vision becomes a permanent visual impairment, it’s often extremely difficult to read or carry out day-to-day activities.

“The OrCam MyEye and OrCam Read devices substantially improve quality of life and we’re excited to provide this impactful technology to Black & Lizars’ patients.”