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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an educational video in American Sign Language (ASL) to provide important information about the Medicare program to people who are Deaf or hard of hearing.
The video consists of an overview of the Medicare program, including what Medicare is, who qualifies, the four parts of Medicare (A, B, C, and D), new preventive services under the Affordable Care Act, and help paying Medicare costs.
The video will be available on Medicare.gov, cms.gov and the CMS YouTube channel.
To access go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eskZVAg7v0o
To download, go to http://downloads.cms.gov/media/video/ASLOverview.mp4
Bureau of Engraving and Printing Launches EyeNote™ App to Help the Blind and Visually Impaired Denominate US Currency
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) has developed a free downloadable application (app) to assist the blind and visually impaired denominate US currency. The app is called EyeNote™. EyeNote™ is a mobile device app designed for Apple iPhone (3G, 3Gs, 4), and the 4th Generation iPod Touch and iPad2 platforms, and is available through the Apple iTunes App Store.
EyeNote™ uses image recognition technology to determine a note's denomination. The mobile device's camera requires 51 percent of a note's scanned image, front or back, to process. In a matter of seconds, EyeNote™ can provide an audible or vibrating response, and can denominate all Federal Reserve notes issued since 1996. Free downloads will be available whenever new US currency designs are introduced. Research indicates that more than 100,000 blind and visually impaired individuals could currently own an Apple iPhone.
The EyeNote™ app is one of a variety of measures the government is working to deploy to assist the visually impaired community to denominate currency, as proposed in a recent Federal Register notice. These measures include implementing a Currency Reader Program whereby a United States resident, who is blind or visually impaired, may obtain a coupon that can be applied toward the purchase of a device to denominate United States currency; continuing to add large high contrast numerals and different background colors to redesigned currency; and, raised tactile features may be added to redesigned currency, which would provide users with a means of identifying each denomination via touch.
More information is available at http://www.eyenote.gov/ or through email at eyenote@bep.gov
More information can be found also at: http://www.bep.treas.gov/uscurrency/meaningfulaccess
European Computer Company Releases First Integrated Eye-Controlled Laptop
On March 1, 2011, computer technology manufacturers, Tobii and Lenovo, publicly introduced the world's first integrated eye-controlled laptop. The fully functional prototype was manufactured by Lenovo, but uses Tobii technology. The Lenovo computer includes simple yet natural interfaces that should be easy for an average user to use. The Tobii technology allows the viewer to use his or her eyes to point, select, and scroll. The computer also can auto dim once through eye recognition to increase battery time.
Twenty computers will be released in the first batch. However, the current state of the computer is cost-prohibitive: The hardware combined with the technology is currently too large to be cost-effective for Lenovo and Tobii, so the computers will not be available to the public for some time.
Full Story: Tobii Unveils the World's First Eye-Controlled Laptop, Tobii Press Releases, Mar. 1, 2011, available at at http://www.tobii.com/en/group/news-and-events/press-releases/the-worlds-firs t-eye-controlled-laptop/ .
Cooking and Shopping Made Easier and Healthier for Blind Americans
In its first year, Let's Move! taught us to pay attention to what we eat. We've learned that choosing a bowl of whole-grain cereal with non-fat milk over cheesy biscuits and bacon is a great way to kick off a healthy, energized day. We've realized that many times we are offered portions that are bigger than necessary, and we've tested delicious, perfectly-proportioned recipes to make at home. And, with the release of 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans last month, we were reminded that consuming less sodium, fats, added sugars and refined grains is essential to a healthy lifestyle.
But, for millions of blind or visually impaired Americans, reading the nutrition information and cooking directions printed on the boxes, cans, jars, bottles and bags at the grocery store has been all but impossible - at least it was before the launch of directionsforme last month
Directionsforme is an accessible and user friendly website that contains nutritional and product information for over 350,000 foods and appliances. Created by Horizons for the Blind, directionsforme is helping millions of Americans like me to plan healthy menus, cook at home and to pay attention to the foods we consume. A study published in August 2010 by a group of Columbia University professors showed that people who regularly read the nutrition facts labels on the food that they buy have significantly healthier diets and consume less calories, fat, sugar and sodium than those who don't read the labels.
Thanks to directionsforme, blind grocery shoppers can now plan their trips by carefully selecting foods and brands whose nutrition information they have read and compared. A busy mom who wants to buy healthy snacks can use the website to find out which brand of peach fruit cups has no added sugar and an aspiring Italian chef can find out the appropriate serving size for his favorite brand of pasta.
Directionsforme is also helping American families eat healthy meals together at home, another key component of the Let's Move! initiative. Planning menus and cooking at home is a fun and healthy way to bring the family together. For sighted cooks, using a microwave to steam broccoli or pureeing vegetables in a blender is as easy as a glance at a user's manual and the push of a button. Directionsforme now makes those time-saving appliances available to visually impaired chefs with accessible package information for thousands of products.
Let's Move! has always been committed to including people with disabilities in its healthy lifestyle outreach, whether by cheering on the American athletes at the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver or recognizing the students with disabilities who earned Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards with a special ceremony at the White House. Now, with the accessible nutrition information and appliance instructions on the directionsforme website, blind Americans can more easily pay attention to the food they eat and fully participate in the Let's Move! call for healthier meals and healthier families.