How do visually impaired scientists do research?

Source science.

Guided reading

There are about 2.

So the question is, how do visually impaired scientists do scientific research?

In the past scientific research process, these visually impaired scientists can read literature through text readers, but there is a common problem with text readers - they cannot accurately read the images and data in the literature

If there is a way to communicate visual data to visually impaired scientists, it will make their scientific work a lot easier.

3D printing technology has long been known

So, what is going on in this research based on 3D printing technology and on the "Science Progress"?

01

Fabulous: Ancient Art Combined with Visual Data

On August 17, 2022, four visually impaired scientists and Baylor University biochemist Bryan Shaw collaborated to complete the research and published the research results in the journal "Science Advances", Titled "Data for all: Tactile graphics that light up with picture-perfect resolution"

The researchers noted that previous problems with visually impaired people being unable to read data and images in experiments or literature made communication difficult between visually impaired scientists and sighted scientists, necessitating a data visualization that both could understand.

As a result, the researchers 3D printed the graphic data into "cards" that were not only thin, but also touchable.

Some patterns of light-transmitting relief 3D printed products, image source: science.

What is the light-transmitting relief effect? According to the researchers, it can be understood as a very thin translucent print

To use an analogy that is closer to life, ancient Chinese porcelain art is highly skilled.

Song Dynasty Hutian kiln shadow celadon glaze darkly engraved banana leaf pattern lotus leaf lid pot, picture source: artist.

That's how this study works, isn't it amazing? In fact, even though the light-transmitting relief effect has a history of thousands of years in China and has already appeared in Europe in the 17th century, no one has ever thought of combining this art with visual data

We've looked at how 3D printing can help visually impaired scientists do their research, and then we'll take a look at how this research is done

02

3D Printing: High Accuracy, High Resolution, Highly Controllable

In this study, the researchers used a small 3D printer to print the data of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and then made light-transmitting relief versions of four other data types: scanning electron microscope images of butterfly scales, mass spectrometry of protein molecules Figure, UV-Vis spectrum of heme protein, secondary structure topology of seven-chain β-sheet protein

SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis data and its 3D printing effect Image credit: science.

Scanning electron microscope of butterfly scales and their 3D prints Image credit: science.
org

Protein molecular mass spectrometry and its 3D printing effect Image source: science.
org

The UV-Vis spectrum of heme protein and its 3D printing effect Image credit: science.
org

The topology of the secondary structure of the seven-chain β-fold protein and its 3D printing effect.
Image source: science.
org

Subsequently, the researchers divided the subjects into 3 groups for testing, and tested the above 5 kinds of data under different test conditions.
The subjects answered the relevant questions prepared by the researchers according to their own understanding:

1.
The first group consisted of 5 visually impaired persons and 106 blindfolded persons with normal vision, who were to interpret the data on the 3D printed light-transmitting relief plate by touch;

2.
The second group consisted of 106 normal sighted persons who were not blindfolded.
They had to use their sight to interpret the data on the 3D printed light-transmitting relief plate;

3.
The third group consisted of unblindfolded sighted individuals who were asked to interpret the original image on the computer through their eyesight
.

After testing, it was found that the correct rate of interpretation by touch was 96.
7% for visually impaired persons in the first group, 79.
8% for those with normal vision, 92.
2% for the second group, and 88.
4% for the third group
.
Through the comparison between the three sets of test data, the researchers concluded that the 3D printed light-transmitting relief plate can be used as a visual data format
.

Subsequently, the researchers expanded their thinking and used inflation molding technology for data visualization research, that is, using a special type of paper called "expanded paper" to create soft, foam-like tactile patterns
.
This method is faster than 3D printed light-transmitting relief plates, but cannot achieve the high-precision, high-resolution, and highly controllable patterns that 3D printing can
.

It is worth mentioning that 4 of the 5 visually impaired subjects in this study were not only co-authors of the paper, but also received PhDs in chemistry
.
As researchers and beneficiaries of this study, how do they feel about the findings?

03

Researchers: Problem solved

On the day the paper was published, Science Careers interviewed three of the authors: Guberman-Pfeffer of the University of Connecticut, Brian Shaw, and Mona Minkara of Northeastern University in Boston, of whom Pu Feffer and Minkara are visually impaired
.

Guberman-Pfeffer reading information on a 3D light-relief plate by touch Image credit: science.
org

Minkara said the innovation of the study is that they made chemistry accessible to blind people using an ancient technology invented more than 1,000 years ago, an innovation that makes some otherwise complex information readily available
.

Minkara said his students were not blind, but he was
.
Therefore, the communication between them will become complicated, but with this 3D printed transparent embossed plate, he can let the students print out the data for him, and they can communicate the same message without obstacles
.

Pfeffer said that when he was a student, communication between him and the professor was very difficult because he could not see the diagrams drawn by the professor
.
"It was like an acrobatics where one person was blindfolded and the other held up an object and hoped that the blindfolded person would say what the object was and describe the shape
of the object," recalls Pfeffer
.
But the 3D printed transparent relief version solves this problem
.

In the future, the 3D printed transparent relief plate may benefit more visually impaired people, help more visually impaired scientists to carry out their scientific research activities smoothly, solve the communication problem between visually impaired scientists and other scientists, and make scientific research more equitable.
For everyone
.

References

1.
How 3D printing could help blind researchers 'see' data.
Science Careers.

for all: Tactile graphics that light up with picture-perfect resolution.
Science Advances.