Determining reading ability and effect of color filters on reading performance

Abstract

In a computer-implemented method, a server 3 connected to a network 1 displays text 9 on a background 11 on a screen 7 of a user computer 5 also connected to this network 1. The text 9 and the background 11 are displayed in a color that corresponds to the effect that the use of a physical color filter in front of a person's eyes would have on the person's perception of black letters on a white background. The person's reading ability is then measured with a color chosen by the person and these measurement results are compared with each other and compared with the reading performance with black text on a white background and conclusions are drawn from this. If an improvement in reading performance is observed, glasses are then assembled having lenses provided with the color filter with which the best reading performance was observed.

Description

[0001] DETERMINING READING ABILITY AND EFFECT OF COLOR FILTERS ON READING PERFORMANCE

[0002] DESCRIPTION:

[0003] Technical field of the invention

[0004] The invention relates to a method for determining the reading ability of a person in order to be able to determine the effect of color on the reading performance of this person in order to assemble glasses with colored lenses with which the reading performance of this person improves.

[0005] The invention further relates to a method for determining the effect of color on the reading performance of a person and to software for performing the method.

[0006] The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing glasses with lenses provided with a color filter determined using the method.

[0007] Background of the invention

[0008] WO2004 / 112598A1 discloses a method that can be used in providing a visual aid, such as the selection of a tint for a screen, to alleviate symptoms of dyslexia and other optical disorders. This known method provides a test procedure in which parameters of eye tracking are associated with color parameters of the visual aid in order to select the optimal color of the visual aid. A device is used to track the movement of the eye during reading.

[0009] A disadvantage of this known method is that the person for whom the visual aid is intended must come to a location where a device to track the movement of the eye during reading is present.

[0010] Summary of the invention

[0011] It is an object of the present invention to improve the method for determining the color filter with which the best reading results are obtained for the person, such that the suitable color filter can be determined for more people in a certain time. To this end, the method according to the invention is characterised in that the method comprises the following steps: showing text on a screen and making a voice recording with the aid of a microphone while the text is read aloud by this person, and analysing the voice recording whereby the reading performance is quantified and / or qualified, whereby: the screen and the microphone are connected to a network, showing text on the screen is done via the network by a server connected to the network, and analysing the voice recording is done by first making a transcription of the voice recording with the aid of the server and then comparing the transcription with the text displayed on the screen by software running on the server and to qualify and / or quantify the differences in order to give an assessment of the reading ability of this person.

[0012] Instead of applying the method described in the preamble at multiple locations, the method according to the invention can be used at any desired location, including at the person's home. This is achieved by providing a test that can determine the best color filter for the person at any location where there is an internet connection, such as the person's home location.

[0013] The display can be, for example, a computer monitor connected to a computer or a built-in monitor in a laptop. The microphone can be integrated into the display, computer, or laptop, or a separate microphone connected to the display, computer, or laptop. The server is equipped with specifically developed software for displaying text with a background color and analyzing the voice recording. The network is preferably the World Wide Web. Qualifying and / or quantifying is done by one or more of the following determinations: determining the number of correctly pronounced words, determining the number of words pronounced within a period of time, determining the number of times a word is pronounced incorrectly or a different word is read than is shown in the text on the screen, determining the number of times a word is skipped, determining the number of times an extra word is read that is not between two words, determining the number of times a word is repeated, determining the number of times a pronounced word is corrected, determining the number of times stuttering, determining the number of pauses, and determining the number of prolongations.

[0014] The method according to the invention for determining the effect of color on a person's reading performance comprises: displaying text on a background in different colors other than white on the screen, whereby the person indicates at which background color he or she can best perceive the text, following the steps described in claim 1, whereby text in black letters on a white background is displayed on the screen, following the steps described in claim 1, whereby text in letters on a background in the color, of which the person has indicated that he or she can best perceive the text, are displayed on the screen, and comparing the assessments of the reading ability of this person when reading text with the different background colors in order to quantify and / or qualify the improvement in reading ability when using the chosen background color.

[0015] After this, the person is preferably invited to a test location where glasses equipped with a color filter corresponding to the chosen background color are held in front of the eyes and text in black letters on a white background is displayed and read out by the person, while a voice recording is made that is analysed by the software, in order to check whether the effect when using colored glasses is comparable to the effect that was found during the computer-implemented method. If necessary, this test can be repeated with other color filters whose filter properties are close to those of the chosen color filter in order to determine which color filter gives the best result. In particular this can be chosen in case the result of reading with colored glasses deviates from the result determined during the computer-implemented method.

[0016] The method can also be performed for each eye separately, whereby the other eye is covered, to determine which background color gives the best reading improvement for each eye. It has been found that instead of holding color filters in front of the person's eyes, the effect of this can also be tested by changing the color of the background on which the text is displayed, whereby these background colors correspond to the colors of the physical color filters. This allows the test to be performed remotely by means of a computer program without an optometrist. A further advantage of this method according to the invention is that this online method is an objective method for determining the optimal color filter for a person.

[0017] In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the color of the text on the screen is also adjusted (chosen color mixed with black) in accordance with the effect that the use of a physical color filter would have on the perception by the person of black letters on a white background. The text will then not be displayed in black but for example in very deep dark blue, dark green etc. depending on the chosen color. This simulates the effect of applying color filters in a spectacle lens even better.

[0018] Because the method according to the invention is carried out by an online application, the method can be accessed by everyone and the reading skills of several people can be mapped simultaneously, as well as the difference in reading performance between reading black text on a white background and reading text on a background in a different color. This results in a significant time saving when mapping and monitoring the developments in the reading skills of large groups of people.

[0019] While reading the text aloud, a camera can also be used to make an image of the person's face to determine the number of blinks and the distance to the screen and to derive the stress level from this.

[0020] The method according to the invention for manufacturing glasses with lenses provided with a color filter comprises: determining the color of the background of text whereby improvement of the reading performance is determined according to the above method, selecting from a set of spectacle lenses provided with color filters the spectacle lens with the color filter that most closely matches the determined color, fitting the selected spectacle lens in a spectacle frame.

[0021] Preferably, the spectacle lenses of the set are provided with color filters, the light transmission of which gradually increases from 0 at a light wavelength of 350 nm to a light transmission of XI % at a light wavelength of Y1 nm, after which the light transmission may or may not subsequently increase further to X2% at a light wavelength of Y2 nm and then the light transmission may or may not decrease to X3% at a light wavelength of Y3 nm and finally the light transmission increases further to X4% at a light wavelength of Y4 nm according to the table below, whereby each value in this table indicates a range from this value minus 10% to this value plus 10% and whereby the set of color filters comprises at least 8 of the 14 color filters shown in the table:

[0022] For optimum effect the specifications of the color filters should be close to the optimum values mentioned in the table above, so that a range from this value minus 5% to this value plus 5% more is preferred.

[0023] Preferably, the set of color filters includes all 14 color filters displayed in the table.

[0024] The empty cells in the above table in the columns of X2 and Y2 indicate that light with a wavelength of 400 nm forms a peak in the graph of the light transmittance of the color filter and for light with longer wavelengths the transmittance decreases. The empty cells in the above table in the columns of X3 and Y3 indicate that there is no valley in the graph and therefore the light transmittance from light with a wavelength of 350 nm increases continuously with that specific color filter. The software according to the invention contains instructions that, when the software is executed by a server connected to a network, this server and a screen and microphone of a person also connected to the network are controlled in such a way that the method according to the invention is executed.

[0025] Brief description of the drawings

[0026] The invention will be further elucidated below on the basis of drawings. These drawings show an embodiment of the method according to the present invention. In the drawings:

[0027] Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of the known method for determining a color filter with which the best reading can be achieved;

[0028] Figure 2 shows the means by which the method according to the invention can be carried out;

[0029] Figure 3 shows the user computer with text on a white background on the computer screen;

[0030] Figure 4 shows the user computer with text on a colored background on the computer screen;

[0031] Figure 5 shows graphs of the light transmittance over the wavelength range of visible light of the color filters of the set;

[0032] Figure 6 shows a text displayed on the screen;

[0033] Figure 7 is a legend of the marked errors;

[0034] Figure 8 shows a transcription of the spoken text with markings of the errors;

[0035] Figure 9 shows statistics of the errors found in the transcription of figure 8;

[0036] Figure 10 shows a comparison of tests with and without background color;

[0037] Figure 11 shows the result of the tests with and without background color;

[0038] Figure 12 shows the results of the test; and

[0039] Figure 13 shows spectacles with spectacle lenses equipped with color filters. Detailed description of the drawings

[0040] Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of the known method for determining a color filter with which one can read best. In the known method, a person is received at a location where the method is performed. At this location, several glasses 23 with different colors (color filters) are held in front of the person's eyes 21 in succession while the person looks at a text 13 on a white background 13 of for example a board 25. Here the person indicates with which colored glasses he / she experiences the text most pleasantly.

[0041] Then the person must read a text 13 in black letters on a white background 15 and then read a text with the colored glasses 23 of which it was indicated that the text is experienced most pleasantly with them, for both eyes 21. Finally, the measured values are compared with each other and it is determined whether and, if so, to what extent the reading skills have improved compared to reading text in black letters against a white background without a color filter in front of the eyes 21. If the reading performance is significant, glasses are then assembled with lenses provided with the color filter with which the best improvement has been observed. The set of color filters mentioned includes color filters whose light transmittance gradually increases from 0 at a light wavelength of 350 nm to a light transmittance of Xl% at a light wavelength of Y1 nm, after which the light transmittance may or may not subsequently increase further to X2% at a wavelength of light of Y2 nm and then the light transmittance decreases or not to X3% at a wavelength of light of Y3 nm and finally the light transmittance increases further to X4% at a wavelength of light of Y4 nm according to the following table:

[0042]

[0043] Figure 5 shows these color filters graphically, showing the light transmission over the wavelength range of visible light of the color filters of the set.

[0044] Figure 2 shows schematically the means by which the method according to the invention can be carried out. The method according to the invention is a computer-implemented method in which various texts 9 are displayed on a background 11 on a screen 7 of a user computer 5 also connected to this network 1, which the person is using, by a server 3 connected to a network 1. In this case, the background 11 can be displayed in a color that corresponds to the effect that the use of a physical color filter 23 in front of the eyes 21 of the person would have on the person's perception of black letters 13 on a white background 15. The color of the text 9 on the screen 7 can also be adjusted, again corresponding to the effect that the use of a physical color filter 23 would have on the person's perception of black letters 13 on a white background 15. The text will then not be displayed in black but, for example, in very deep dark blue, dark green etc., depending on the color of the chosen color filter.

[0045] Then, using known test methods, the reading skills of the person are mapped out using speech and image recordings with the background colors that the person finds most pleasant, and these measurement results are compared with each other and compared with the reading performance in tests with black text on a white background, and conclusions are drawn from this. This is also compared with the average reading skills level of persons having the same age as that of the person who took the test. The entire set of results is presented in a report that is readable to a layman. If an improvement in reading performance is observed, glasses are then assembled with lenses provided with the chosen color filter. Reading skills are determined by recording the texts that are read aloud and qualifying the recorded words by means of a computer that is programmed for this purpose. The computer checks the texts read aloud for reading speed, number of reading errors, sound stuttering and prolongations. The computer also determines the number of eye blinks and the distance of the person's eyes to the screen in order to derive the person's stress level from this.

[0046] In figures 3 and 4, the user computer is shown by way of illustration with text 13 on a white background 15 on the screen 7 of the computer 5, and with text 9 on a colored background 11 on the screen 7 of the computer 5, respectively. The used computer program that runs on the server 3 contains instructions that ensure that the server 3 sends information via the network 1 to a user computer 5 of a person that is also connected to the network 1, see figure 2. The instructions also ensure that the data that the person enters in the user computer 5 while using the computer program and the speech and image recordings via the network 1 are received on the server 3.

[0047] In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the reading ability of the person performing the test is first determined. For this purpose, various texts 13 are shown in black letters on a white background 15 on the screen 7 of the user computer 5, see figure 3, which are read aloud by the person. During the reading aloud, a sound recording is made with the microphone 8 and a video recording with the camera 6. The sound and video recordings are then analysed by the software running on the server 3, whereby the reading performance is quantified and / or qualified.

[0048] To analyse the sound recording, a transcription 17 is first made of the speech recording, see figure 8, and then the transcription 17 is compared by the software running on the server 3 with the text shown on the screen 7, see figure 6, and the differences are qualified and quantified in order to give an assessment of the reading ability of the person.

[0049] The qualification and quantification is done by: determining the number of correctly pronounced words, determining the number of words pronounced within a period of time, determining the number of times a word is pronounced incorrectly or a different word is read aloud than is shown in the text on the screen, determining the number of times a word is skipped, determining the number of times an extra word is read aloud that is not between two words, determining the number of times a word is repeated, determining the number of times a spoken word is corrected, determining the number of times stuttering, determining the number of pauses, and determining the number of prolongations.

[0050] In the transcription 17 shown in figure 8, the words are marked with a color and figure 7 shows what is indicated with the various colors. Figure 9 shows the statistics of the analysis. Below is a more detailed explanation of the analysis of the transcription of the read text. The following error classifications were made:

[0051] • Correct: there is a direct match between the spoken and original texts.

[0052] • Deletion / omission: a word from the original text is missing in the spoken text. If the spoken text is shorter, stop the comparison to avoid unnecessary deletion marks.

[0053] • Insertion: extra words in the spoken text that do not appear in the original.

[0054] • Repetition: a word is repeated inadvertently in the spoken text.

[0055] • Self-correction: This occurs when an initially incorrect word in the spoken text is immediately followed by one or more attempts to correct it, leading directly to the correct word according to the original text. An important aspect in identifying self-correction concerns the order in which an incorrect attempt is made, followed by: o Another attempt that may also be incorrect but shows progress towards the correct word, or o Directly by the correct word itself.

[0056] The sequence ends with the correct word that matches the original text, thus distinguishing it from mere insertions or substitutions. If the initially incorrect word or any subsequent attempts do not lead to the correct word according to the original text within the immediate sequence, they should not be classified as self-corrections. Instead, they should be considered as insertions (if the word is additional or supplementary) or substitutions (if the word directly replaces an original word with an incorrect variant).

[0057] A self-correction is only validated if the last word in the correction sequence correctly matches the intended original word. This sequence shows that the reader recognizes and corrects his error. If the 'correction' does not immediately precede the correct corresponding word or is not part of a direct sequence leading to the correct word, it should be classified based on its relationship to the original text (for example, as a replacement if it inaccurately replaces an original word, or an insertion if it adds something to the text without replacing a specific original word).

[0058] • Replacement: A word from the original text is replaced by another word in the spoken text. This also applies to cases where the meaning, form, or order of words is changed. Replacements are identified by: o Direct replacement of a word by another word that changes the meaning or structure of the original text. o Swapped words: If two consecutive words in the spoken text appear in reverse order compared to the original text (for example, "op kijk" => "kijk op"), each word is considered a replacement. This specific case is important for preserving the order and meaning of the original text.

[0059] It is crucial to recognize when words in the spoken text have been swapped. This scenario should always be classified as substitutions for each word involved, because it indicates a deviation from the correct order established in the original text. By identifying these swapped words and classifying them as substitutions, reading accuracy and comprehension can be assessed more accurately.

[0060] Text 9 is then displayed on a background 11 in different colors, see figure 4. The person performing the test indicates via the user computer 5 which background color he or she can best perceive or finds most pleasant to read text 9.

[0061] Various texts 9 are then displayed on a background 11 in the indicated color on the screen 7 of the user computer 5, see figure 4. These texts are also read aloud by the person, with sound and video recordings being made.

[0062] The sound and video recordings are then analysed by the software running on the server 3, whereby the reading performance is quantified and / or qualified. Here again a transcription 17 is made of the speech recording, see figure 8, and then this transcription 17 is compared with the text shown on the screen 7, see figure 6, and the differences are qualified and quantified to give an assessment of the reading ability of the person when reading text on a background color.

[0063] Then the assessment of the reading skills of this person when reading text on a colored background is compared with the assessment of the text on a white background and the results are displayed on the screen of the user's computer. Figures 10 and 11 show the results of a test. The results are processed in a report that the person can download. Figure 12 shows the result of the test shown in the report.

[0064] Finally, a pair of glasses 25 is assembled by selecting from a set of glasses provided with color filters the lens with the color filter that most closely matches the color of which the person has indicated that he or she experiences the text in the most pleasant way and fitting the selected lens 27 in a spectacle frame 29, see figure 13.

[0065] Although the present invention is elucidated above on the basis of the given drawings, it should be noted that this invention is not limited whatsoever to the embodiment shown in the drawings. The invention also extends to all embodiments deviating from the embodiment shown in the drawings within the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. Computer-implemented method for determining the reading ability of a person in order to determine the effect of color on the reading performance of this person in order to compose glasses with colored lenses with which the reading performance of this person improves, comprising: showing text (9) on a screen (7) and making a voice recording with the aid of a microphone (8) while the text is read aloud by this person, and analysing the voice recording whereby the reading performance is quantified and / or qualified, whereby: the screen (7) and the microphone (8) are connected to a network (1), showing text (9) on the screen (7) is done via the network (1) by a server (3) connected to the network, and analysing the voice recording is done by first making a transcription (17) of the voice recording with the aid of the server (3) and then comparing the transcription (17) with the text displayed on the screen (7) by software running on the server (3) and to qualify and / or quantify the differences in order to give an assessment of the reading ability of this person.

2. Computer-implemented method for determining the reading ability of a person according to claim 1, wherein the qualifying and / or quantifying is done by one or more of the following determinations: determining the number of correctly pronounced words, determining the number of words pronounced within a period of time, determining the number of times a word is pronounced incorrectly or a different word is read than is shown in the text on the screen, determining the number of times a word is skipped, determining the number of times an extra word is read that is not between two words, determining the number of times a word is repeated, determining the number of times a pronounced word is corrected, determining the number of times stuttering, determining the number of pauses, and determining the number of prolongations.

3. Computer-implemented method for determining the effect of color on the reading performance of a person using the method according to claim 1 or 2, comprising: displaying text (9) on a background (11) in different colors other than white on the screen (7), whereby the person indicates at which background color he or she can best perceive the text (9), following the steps described in claim 1, whereby text (13) in black letters on a white background (15) is displayed on the screen (7), following the steps described in claim 1, whereby text (9) in letters on a background (11) in the color, of which the person has indicated that he or she can best perceive the text, are displayed on the screen (7), and comparing the assessments of the reading ability of this person when reading text with the different background colors in order to quantify and / or qualify the improvement in reading ability when using the chosen background color.

4. Method according to claim 3, wherein the color of the text (9) on the screen (7) is also adjusted in accordance with the effect that the use of a physical color filter (23) would have on the perception of black letters (13) on a white background (15) by the person.

5. Method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein during the reading of the text aloud, a camera (6) is also used to record an image of the person's face in order to measure the number of blinks and the distance to the screen (7) and to derive the stress level from it.

6. Method for manufacturing glasses (25) with lenses (27) provided with a color filter comprising: determining the color of the background (11) of text (9) whereby improvement of the reading performance is determined according to the method according to claim 3 or 4, selecting from a set of spectacle lenses provided with color filters the spectacle lens (27) with the color filter that most closely matches the determined color, fitting the selected spectacle lens (27) in a spectacle frame (29).

7. Method according to claim 6, wherein the set of spectacle lenses are provided with color filters, the light transmittance of which gradually increases from 0 at a wavelength of light of 350 nm to a light transmittance of Xl% at a wavelength of light of Y1 nm, after which the light transmittance may or may not subsequentlyincrease further to X2% at a wavelength of light of Y2 nm and then the light transmittance may or may not decrease to X3% at a wavelength of light of Y3 nm and finally the light transmittance increases further to X4% at a wavelength of light of Y4 nm according to the table below, each value in this table indicating a range from this value minus 10% to this value plus 10% and the set of color filters comprising at least 8 of the 14 color filters shown in the table:

8. Software containing instructions which, when the software is executed by a server (3) connected to a network, control this server (3) and a screen (7) and microphone (8) of a person also connected to the network in such a way that the method according to any of claims 1 to 5 is executed.

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