Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29584738›Full record

ArticlePloS one2018

Conveying facial expressions to blind and visually impaired persons through a wearable vibrotactile device.

Hendrik P Buimer, Marian Bittner, Tjerk Kostelijk, Thea M van der Geest, Abdellatif Nemri, Richard J A van Wezel, Yan Zhao

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Hendrik P BuimerDepartment of Biomedical Signals and Systems, MIRA Institute, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-2798-8595
Marian BittnerDepartment of Biomedical Signals and Systems, MIRA Institute, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Tjerk KostelijkVicarVision, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Thea M van der GeestDepartment of Media, Communication, & Organization, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Abdellatif NemriDepartment of Biomedical Signals and Systems, MIRA Institute, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Richard J A van WezelDepartment of Biomedical Signals and Systems, MIRA Institute, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Yan ZhaoDepartment of Biomedical Signals and Systems, MIRA Institute, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In face-to-face social interactions, blind and visually impaired persons (VIPs) lack access to nonverbal cues like facial expressions, body posture, and gestures, which may lead to impaired interpersonal communication. In this study, a wearable sensory substitution device (SSD) consisting of a head mounted camera and a haptic belt was evaluated to determine whether vibrotactile cues around the waist could be used to convey facial expressions to users and whether such a device is desired by VIPs for use in daily living situations. Ten VIPs (mean age: 38.8, SD: 14.4) and 10 sighted persons (SPs) (mean age: 44.5, SD: 19.6) participated in the study, in which validated sets of pictures, silent videos, and videos with audio of facial expressions were presented to the participant. A control measurement was first performed to determine how accurately participants could identify facial expressions while relying on their functional senses. After a short training, participants were asked to determine facial expressions while wearing the emotion feedback system. VIPs using the device showed significant improvements in their ability to determine which facial expressions were shown. A significant increase in accuracy of 44.4% was found across all types of stimuli when comparing the scores of the control (mean±SEM: 35.0±2.5%) and supported (mean±SEM: 79.4±2.1%) phases. The greatest improvements achieved with the support of the SSD were found for silent stimuli (68.3% for pictures and 50.8% for silent videos). SPs also showed consistent, though not statistically significant, improvements while supported. Overall, our study shows that vibrotactile cues are well suited to convey facial expressions to VIPs in real-time. Participants became skilled with the device after a short training session. Further testing and development of the SSD is required to improve its accuracy and aesthetics for potential daily use.

Indexed as

Facial ExpressionWearable Electronic DevicesAcoustic StimulationAdolescentAdultBlindnessFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPersons with Visual DisabilitiesPhotic StimulationTask Performance and AnalysisYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID29584738
PMCPMC5870993

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.