OrCam readers raise daily-living test scores from 2.5 to 9.5

AI system

System: OrCam MyEye, MyEye 2 and OrCam Read (camera-based optical character and object recognition with audio output)
Model: Not assessed
Release: Exact release not established.
Application developer: OrCam Technologies
Role: The devices recognized text and objects in camera images and described them aloud.
Configuration: The studies used different OrCam products, including MyEye, MyEye 2, and Read.
Inputs and outputs: Not assessed
Autonomy: Not assessed
Workflow: Camera-based OCR and object recognition with audio output. Short in-clinic training followed by home use. Task batteries simulating daily living.
Human oversight: Not assessed
Relation to AI: The devices' computer-vision recognition of text, faces and colors is the function measured in every study. Comparisons were against no aid or existing low-vision aids. The 2016 test instrument was non-validated, so effects are task-level rather than clinical outcomes.
AI contribution: The devices' computer-vision recognition of text, faces and colors is the function measured in every study. Comparisons were against no aid or existing low-vision aids. The 2016 test instrument was non-validated, so effects are task-level rather than clinical outcomes.

Benefits

Outcome identifiers: Not assessed
Benefit: improved on a 10-item daily-living test from 2.5 to 9.5
Category: Improved Accessibility
Status: Not assessed
Beneficiary groups: People. Society.
Beneficiaries: Not assessed
Reach: Not assessed
Distribution and access: Not assessed
Duration: Not assessed
Expected?: Yes
Costs and harms: Not assessed

Measurement

Studies: Not assessed
Study design: Not assessed
Measurement: Not assessed
Setting and sample: Not assessed
Measures: improved on a 10-item daily-living test from 2.5 to 9.5
Comparison: Not assessed
Results: improved on a 10-item daily-living test from 2.5 to 9.5
Additional value from AI: Not assessed
Limitations: Not assessed
Denominators: Not assessed
Materials for replication: Not assessed

Money

Kind of value: Not assessed
Amount: Not assessed
Currency and prices: Not assessed
Period and unit: Not assessed
Realization: Not assessed
Recipients and payers: Not assessed
Gross or net: Not assessed
Included costs: Not assessed
Comparison: Not assessed
Method: Not assessed
Return and payback: Not assessed

People and places

Participants: Developer: OrCam Technologies. Operator: Study clinics: a US ophthalmology department (2015), five vision rehabilitation centers, UC Davis Ophthalmology, NIH Clinical Center.
Jurisdictions: Developer: Israel. Operator: United States.
Ownership and control: Not assessed
Dependencies: Not assessed
Cross-border connections: Not assessed
Geopolitical implications: Not assessed

Follow-up

Conditions for replication: Adequate lighting and pointing ability. Device training provided by clinicians. Users with residual ability to aim the camera.
Replication attempts: 1 follow-up entries. Benefit recurred: 1.
Later findings: Not assessed
Availability: Not assessed
Institutional decision: Not assessed
Grounds: Not assessed
Action and result: Not assessed
Success criterion: Not assessed

Evidence

Source numbers: AIBD-0057-source-0001–0004
Citations: Numbered references below.
Language: Not assessed
Source relationships: Independent
Original evidence: Not assessed
Access and versions: Not assessed
Supported findings: Not assessed
Evidence links: Not assessed
Evidence strength: Not assessed
Missing evidence: Not assessed

Grades

Assessed benefits: People. Society.
Depth: Not assessed
Reasons: People: Outcomes are cohort means on daily-living and task tests. No individual beneficiary is identified. Society: Multi-site cohort evidence of usability, not an attributable societal outcome.
Observed or intended: Not assessed
Rubric: Not assessed
Assessor and date: Not assessed
Alternative assessments: Not assessed
Fill: Independently studied

Entry details

Kind

Not assessed

Related entries

Both are vendor AI products sold to recognize and read content aloud for low-vision users; the overlays' inaccurate descriptions degraded rather than improved daily task performance for blind and visually impaired users.

Field

Low-vision rehabilitation. People with low vision, acquired brain injury or CLN3 disease.

Purpose

Read text and recognize faces, objects and colors aloud for people with visual impairment

Dates

Date basis unassessed: 2015 (precision unassessed). Updated: 21 October 2026.

Stage

Not assessed

Version

SHA-256: 5b5e30b52b41…

References

Other identifiers: AI Incident Database: 830.
Category mappings: Not assessed
Brief: Not assessed
Revisions: 5 revisions. Latest: 21 October 2026.

Sources

Peer-reviewed study Independent author

Moisseiev E, Mannis MJ (2016). Evaluation of a Portable Artificial Vision Device Among Patients With Low Vision. JAMA Ophthalmology 134(7):748-752.
Peer-reviewed study Independent author

Amore F, Silvestri V, Guidobaldi M, et al. (2023). Efficacy and Patients' Satisfaction with the ORCAM MyEye Device Among Visually Impaired People: A Multicenter Study. Journal of Medical Systems 47:11.
Peer-reviewed study Independent author

Nisanova A, Barrios L, Chokshi T, Mannis M, Bloch O, Liu YA (2024). A Feasibility Study on a Portable Vision Device for Patients with Stroke and Brain Tumours. Neuro-Ophthalmology 48(1):3-12.
Peer-reviewed study Independent author

Nguyen TT, Munoz A, Jenkins K, et al. (2026). Prospective pilot safety, feasibility study of an optic-to-audio device for children with CLN3 disease. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases 21:199.