Free Apps Designed to Help People with Macular Degeneration Read

Robin Walker, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience from Royal Holloway University of London, has developed two free apps, which are designed to help people with macular degeneration read when using the eccentric viewing technique.  People with macular degeneration report that their number one challenge is reading and both of these free tools have been developed to address this problem.

MD_evReader App

The MD_evReader is a free app designed as a reading aid for people with macular degeneration. The app presents text from an eBook on a tablet (iPad or Android) as a single scrolling line, much like a newsfeed.  Using scrolling text can enhance reading for some people with macular degeneration when using the eccentric viewing technique.  The MD_evReader was developed by Robin Walker in collaboration with the Macular Society UK and was produced by Humboldt Solutions Ltd.

EV News

EV News was created by Robin and produced by Codica, a London-based digital product studio,  and aims to help people with macular degeneration read current news and magazine articles.  It is also designed to support the use of reading using the eccentric viewing technique, whereby the reader holds their gaze slightly away from text scrolling right-to-left like a newsfeed.  

In the video below, users of EV News describe the way that this tool has helped them.

Dame Judi Dench, who suffers from Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), discusses how using these apps have helped her to be able to read more easily.

Eccentric Viewing

Learn more about Eccentric Viewing in this video from the Macular Disease Society.