WO2019147138A1

WO2019147138A1 - Device for the reduction of dyslexia

Info

Publication number: WO2019147138A1
Application number: PCT/NO2019/050013
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alv Birger ARONSEN
Original assignee: Aronsen Alv Birger
Priority date: 2018-01-26
Filing date: 2019-01-22
Publication date: 2019-08-01
Also published as: NO20180135A1

Abstract

A light source shimmering or strobing with a frequency within the interval 50-120 Hz, preferably 70 Hz, has been found to assist dyslectics in reading more fluently, connectedly and with a better understanding of its contents. The light source may e.g. be assembled into a lamp for reducing dyslexia.

Description

Device for the reduction of dyslexia

Ambit of the Invention

The present invention concerns a device for reducing dyslexia, said device comprising at least one light emitter such as a light bulb, a diode, a LED light, etc., said light emitter being capable of emitting light in the visible spectrum, said light being able to strobe or vary in intensity with a frequency within the range 50-120 Hz to be used as a light source in a reading light. The invention also comprises a process for reducing dyslexia, wherein, for a dyslectic during the reading of a printed or hand-written document, is emitted light onto the document, said light being adjusted to strobe or vary in intensity with a frequency within the interval 50- 120 Hz. Additionally the invention concerns the use of a device for reducing dyslexia, said device comprising at least one light emitter such as a light bulb, a diode, a LED light, etc., said light emitter being capable of emitting light in the visible spectrum, said light being capable of strobing or varying in intensity within the interval 50-120 Hz, as a source for reading light.

Background for the Invention

Dyslexia, or word blindness, is a form of reading and writing difficulty which is connected to a failure in the phonological system in humans. One of the theories for the appearance of dyslexia is that the condition represents a reduction in the capacity of the brain to transform writing in the form of words and/or numbers perceived by the eyes into a meaningful language or meaningful tasks for conducting such tasks such as reading, writing, understanding of the contents of what is being read, measurements, calculation and mathematics. The condition also has an opposite effect whereby the dyslectic may also have problems with his or her expression via written language and/or numerical language.

Dyslexia in not connected to any form of diminished intelligence or understanding ability in the dyslectic other than difficulties with the identification of letters and/or numbers and compounding these symbols into a meaningful context, and through time there has been offered several theories and explanations for dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a form of reading and writing difficulties and possibly calculation difficulties in humans. This condition connected to calculation difficulties is called "dyscalculi". The condition dyslexia was identified in 1887 by the doctor Rudolf Berlin in Stuttgart, Germany. He used the expression to identify the condition in a young boy with serious reading and writing difficulties despite normal intellectual and physical capabilities. Prior to this, dyslectics had been perceived by their peers as less intelligent and often without any normal faculties leading to a strong stigmatization of the dyslectic in society, and this notion is pervasive in large parts of society even today. This leads the dyslectic to feel shame and to develop a weak self-esteem whilst simultaneously regarding themselves as losers in the competition of others without this condition, e.g. within the school system, the working society or within social existence where reading and calculation skills are required.

In the 1890's and early in the 1900's the Scottish ophthalmologist James

Hinshelwood published a series of articles in medical journals wherein Hinshelwood described cases of inherited word blindness that he defined as "an inherited injury found in children with otherwise normal and healthy brains characterized by difficulties with learning how to read". In his book from 1917 "Congenital Word Blindness" (inherited word blindness) Hinshelwood suggested that the primary injury was due to visual remembrance of words and letters, and described several symptoms, inter alia shuffling of letters and difficulties with spelling and

understanding in reading.

Dyslexia is prevalent in individuals in today's Western society in as much as 10-15 % of the population and there exists a pressing need for means of assistance that may reduce dyslexia in humans with this condition.

The most popular explanation for dyslexia today is that the phonological ability is reduced in dyslectics. Phonology or the teaching of sound is in this connection the teachings of the functions of the language sounds, of how the phonetic sounds that humans are capable of producing through their speaking organ, are exploited in each language.

Another theory is that the working memory is inhibited or weakened in dyslectics.

In this connection the working memory is explained to be the part of the memory that is connected to the temporary storing and working of information. The working memory is inter alia used for remembering each word when a person reads and understands a sentence.

The human eye is the organ associated with collecting information in the form of light, where the light is captured by the rear wall of the eye, called the retina, and is there transformed into electrical nerve signals transported to the vision cortex of the brain. The signals are there conducted to other sections of the brain

interpreting and storing the signals as patterns that the organism optionally may react to. The brain receives a double set of signals, one set from each eye, and this arrangement has two consequences. One of them is that since the nerve signals from each eye are a little different from each other, and since the eyes are located at a horizontal distance from each other and consequently regard objects from different angles, making humans having so-called stereoscopic sight, , i.e. perceiving the three-dimensional structure of objects in the environment, and may also provide information about the distance to objects from the individual. The second one is that in those situations where the individual does not have any need for this type of information, and the brain still receives two sets of data streams from each eye, the brain will prioritize the information from one eye over the information from the other eye, giving rise to the situation where one of the eyes becomes the so-called dominant eye, wherein the signals are prioritized over the signals from the other eye, the so-called non-dominant or recessive eye. When reading symbols from a two-dimensional surface such as a page with writing in a book, the three-dimensional depth function will not matter, but the brain still receives signals from both eyes. This is inter alia exploited in constructing "three- dimensional" pictures by placing picture sign and structures in such a way that the brain has to compound the signals for creating an apparent three-dimensional picture from the information (symbols) on the two-dimensional paper, even if this in that case becomes a so-called optical illusion.

Anatomically, the inside of the eye sphere is covered with a layer of light-sensitive cells. This layer is called the retina. The light-sensitive cells in the retina consist mainly of two types, the so-called rods and cones. The cones are sensitive to light within the colored light spectrum and are responsible for signals being interpreted by the brain as colors. The cones need stronger light (stronger light in the form of more photons within the relevant "color") to be activated, whereas the rods react more rapidly to fewer photons but do not have the ability to differ between colors, so that the rods perceive light intensity/lightness to a larger degree then the cones. The density of cones is larger in the central section of the retina which is

responsible for the focus of the sight, whereas the density of rods is greater in the periphery of the retina which is responsible for the perception of light/shadow. The cones are sensitive to light within particular parts of the visible light spectrum. When reading, the eye will focus on the read symbols so that the cones are activated to a larger degree than the rods in reading. Consequently it is normal that better lighting is required during written work to compensate for the greater need that the cones have for more photons than the rods to become activated.

There are three types of cone cells, namely cone cells sensitive for the red, green and blue parts of the light spectrum. The cone cells are consequently grouped into red-sensitive, green-sensitive and blue-sensitive cones, or simply as red, green and blue cones.

The eye reacts to photons within the frequency interval from about 400 nm (violet light) to about 700 nm (red light). The eye behaves differently under strong or weak light conditions: in daylight at light luminosities above about 3 cd/cm² (candela per meters squared) the sight is mainly activated in the center of the retina, where colors may be perceived and where maximum sensitivity is for light about 555 nm (in the green interval). This type of vision is called photopic vision.

At low light intensities below about 30 pcd/m², the vision is made by the peripheral section of the retina being color blind since this section is not sensitive enough to perceive colors. This type of vision is called scotopic vision. The maximum sensitivity is here at about 507 nm (in the blue-green interval) and red light is almost not visible.

The vision between photopic and scotopic vision is called mesotopic vision.

The standard eye sensitivity is also called standard light function V(A) and is used for photopic vision to define a transition between the ray energy (in Watts) and light flux (in Lumen). The standard light function V(A) refers to scotopic vision, but should not be used for conversion to and from photometric units. For photopic vision 1 W of light intensity at a wavelength of 555 nm is defined to correspond to a light flux of 683 Im (lumen). For scotopic vision the sensitivity of the eye is larger than 1 W light intensity at 507 nm and corresponds to a light flux of 1700 Im.

These two wavelengths correspond to a maximum wavelength for each light sensitivity. Of course any single eye is individually different, and the conditions mentioned supra are relevant for a standard eye being defined by CIE 1931 (photopic) and CIE 1951 (scotopic) standards. For light to be perceived as varying in light intensity, the difference between the light intensities from light-weak to light-intense should lie within the intervals mentioned supra, i.e. the difference between light-weak and light-intense light in shimmering light should lie within a difference between photopic and scotopic vision, i.e. a light flux difference of about 1700 Im or above.

The cause(s) for dyslexia has been suggested to be physiologically or neurologically founded, or both, since dyslectic persons otherwise seem to possess normal physical and intellectual faculties. Aiding devices against dyslexia have, however, not been suggested despite the acute and global need that exists for such aiding devices.

Since, when reading from a piece of paper or non-light-generating surfaces there is collected reflected light from the symbols on the sheet of paper, it is normally desired to have symbols with as large a contrast as possible against the

background. Such an alternative is e.g. to print black symbols on a light (white) background or vice versa. Other combinations of contrasting colors may, however, be possible. Examples of this are red writing on a blue background or vice versa, yellow or orange writing on a dark background (dark blue/black or vice versa, etc.). Such contrasts may also be used when reading from e.g. an advertisement board or screen or data screen.

French scientists have suggested a physiological basis for dyslexia being founded in the structure and distribution of light-receiving cells in the eye (the article Albert Le Floch and Guy Ropars, "Left-Right asymmetry of the Maxwell spot centeroids in adults without and with dyslexia", published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, October 23, 2017). The suggestion for the causes of dyslexia in dyslectics is that the light-receiving cells in the eye are placed in matching patterns in both eyes. Such a matching may lead to identical signals to the brain (see supra), and this may confuse the brain by there being established double images or mirror images of the symbol being observed. In persons without dyslexia the same cells are located in asymmetric patterns so that the signals from one eye may be covered with signals from the other eye and thereby creating one single picture in the brain. Even if this may explain the physiological cause for dyslexia it is still not suggested or disclosed any device that may reduce or remove dyslexia.

It has surprisingly been found that dyslexia, at least temporarily, may be reduced or removed by sending white light of a continuously varying light intensity (strobing or shimmering light) against the surface where the symbols to be read are located. This variation in light intensity seems to have an effect on the dyslectic's ability to process the information from the symbols that are read into meaningful information that may be processed by the brain. It has been found that light that may strobe or vary in intensity with a frequency within the interval 50-120 Hz and with a variation cycle (so-called "duty cycle") of up to 5 %, preferably 20 % and more preferred at a frequency of about 70 Hz (variations per second) with a "duty cycle" of 20 % is particularly advantageous in this connection.

In this context, one embodiment is to send white or colored light with a light/dark- frequency within the interval mentioned supra with the device according to the invention. Another and alternative option may be to vary the light intensity from a steady light level to flashing lights within the frequency interval mentioned supra so that there are created some intervals with darkness. This may assist the rods and cones in the eye to receive a sufficient number of photons from the reflected light from the sheet or object that is being read to become activated and send signals to the brain.

In yet another alternative embodiment it may be possible to perform the shimmering/strobing of light within a wavelength of light being perceived as a color. Since a theory behind dyslexia is the physiological problem located in the areas of the eyes registering green and blue light (see supra), it may alternatively be possible to vary the intensity of the light emitted from the device according to the invention within the wavelength for such light.

Based on what has been explained supra, the present invention comprises a lamp with a light source shimmering/strobing light with a frequency within the interval 50-120 Hz from weak to intense light. Such a shimmering/strobing of the light may be obtained in ways that are per se known to the person skilled in the art, e.g. by varying the energy supply (electricity) to the relevant lamp or light source/light bulb. Such a lamp may be a reading lamp, an upright lamp, a suspended lamp, a portable lamp which is provided with electricity from a battery or a number of batteries, etc. In one embodiment the lamp may be a portable lamp that may be carried as a headlight or that may be secured to the book that the dyslectic wishes to read, for providing the advantageous shimmering or strobing light directly onto the surface that is to be read. Alternatively the shimmering/strobing light may be a background light emitting light from a screen on a telephone, a reading pad, a data screen, etc. It may be possible to equip such screens with a function that may strobe/shimmer the light in this way to adjust the screen to a possible dyslectic while such a function may be deactivated by a user without dyslexia. Examples

The effect of a lamp according to the invention was verified by performing several controlled tests on children of ages between 9 and 12 years and on four adults between 35 and 72 years of age, all with established dyslexia. The tests were performed with an electrical lamp with a lightbulb (LED bulb) providing white reading light within the visible wave length interval. The LED bulb was given a strobing/shimmering frequency (light/darkness) with a frequency of 70 Hz and a "duty cycle" of 20 %.

For control and evaluation, a corresponding shimmering/strobing of the light was also performed on 3 women and 2 men without dyslexia.

The test was performed by the relevant tested individual reading loud for an examining/controlling person from a text with letters being understandable for both the test person and the controller. The reading was performed during a period of 1 minute with strobing/shimmering of the light as explained supra and over an immediately following period of 1 minute without such strobing/shimmering of the light. The text that was read was in all of the cases of the same content and word difficulty and was adjusted to the relevant age level. The text in the tests was not the same in the reading tests to avoid that the tested person learnt all or parts of the text internally during the first reading. Alternatively the same text was read under constant versus strobing/shimmering light. Otherwise the conditions during the tests were as constant as possible, i.e. there were used conditions that were as little distracting as possible. For example the light conditions and the temperature conditions were the same during the reading (quietness and constant temperature at about 20 °C) and without distracting smells from the surroundings.

As mentioned supra the test person reads with strobing/shimmering of the light as explained supra for 1 minute, and immediately thereafter without any

strobing/shimmering of the light, and with light of same intensity in both cases.

The text which is read is in both cases of the same level of difficulty. With the foundation that the test was performed with children with dyslexia, these have been presented with texts that are somewhat simpler than what is expected at their age level. In other words the tests were adjusted with a text that is

understandable for the test person's age and development level. The children were reading aloud and it was evident that the speed increased, the reading flow improved and the decoding of the letters improved as well during the reading with strobing/shimmering light according to the invention. The persons did not confuse the letters d and b to the same degree either, the letter that dyslectics are known to have major difficulties with.

The children themselves expressed that it was easier to read under strobing/ shimmering light than without, and they experienced the test as being positive.

All the children participating in the test had parents or other relatives with dyslexia. They were diagnosed by the schooling system as having dyslexia and receive follow-up from their school.

The adults with dyslexia that participated in the test all expressed that they had an improved reading experience by using a lamp with strobing/shimmering light according to the invention. The reading speed for adult dyslectics increased and the fluidity was experienced as being improved with strobing/shimmering the light according to the invention. The adults, however, did not read out aloud.

The results are presented in the table infra.

Adults with dyslexia

Children with dyslexia

As is shown in the tests, significant improvements are accomplished in the reading speed for dyslectics with a strobing/shimmering reading light according to the 5 invention.

Based on this, the invention also includes a process for improving the reading speed of dyslectics wherein impinging reading light onto the read material is shimmered/strobed or varied in intensity with a frequency within the interval 50- 120 Hz, preferably about 70 Hz.

Claims

C l a i m s

1. Device for assisting the reading capabilities in dyslectics,

cha racterized i n that the device comprises at least one light emitter such as a lightbulb, a diode, a LED light, a light tube, etc., said light emitter being capable of emitting light within the visible spectrum, said light being able to strobe or shimmer or vary in intensity with a frequency within the interval 50-120 Hz to be used as a light source in a reading light.

2. Device according to claim 1,

cha racterized i n that the device is a lamp such as a reading lamp, a working lamp, a standing lamp, a suspension lamp, a table lamp or a head lamp.

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2,

cha racterized i n that the device is a screen such as a screen in a mobile phone, a reading tablet or a computer.

4. Device according to any one of the claims 1 -3,

cha racterized i n that the intensity difference between the strongest and the weakest light in the shimmering/strobing cycle of the light is 1700 lumen or more.

5. Device according to any one of the claims 1 -4,

cha racterized i n that the shimmering/strobing of the light is performed at least in the blue/green spectrum of the visible light.

6. Process for improving the reading speed of dyslectics,

cha racterized i n that the process comprises emitting in-falling light onto a surface with symbols that are to be read, wherein said light is shimmered/strobed or varied in intensity with a frequency within the interval 50-120 Hz, wherein said light is used as a reading light.