S1: From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
S1: your host, Sam Colley.
S2: Hello everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
S2: for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness
S2: and low vision.
S3: We firmly believe that the blind innovation community should be
S3: afforded the same level of health care that a sighted
S3: individual is afforded, and it is simply unacceptable to deny
S3: the rights of a blind and low vision individual in
S3: independently and privately conducting a self-administered medical test, the same
S3: way that a sighted person would.
S2: Welcome to the program. This week I catch up with
S2: William Chen from the Inclusive Technologies team at Monash University.
S2: He's currently developing a mobile health care app for users
S2: who are blind or have low vision, and he's seeking
S2: expressions of interest for people to take part in some
S2: tests to evaluate the app and improve the user experience.
S2: That interview is coming up very shortly, so make sure
S2: to stick around to hear from William. And then after
S2: my chat with William, Steph from comes back with a
S2: Vision Australia comms wrap to give us an overview of
S2: what's coming up in the organisation around the country over
S2: the next month. I hope you'll enjoy this week's episode
S2: of Talking Vision. William Chen is an undergraduate student from
S2: the Inclusive Technologies team at Monash University. He's in his
S2: final year of studies at Monash, and as part of
S2: his research programme, he is exploring the independence, trust and
S2: privacy of individuals who are blind or have low vision
S2: towards digital health. Mobile apps, including the thia mobile app,
S2: which is currently in development and seeking input from users
S2: who are blind or have low vision in a series
S2: of evaluation tests. And to have a chat with me
S2: all about the app. I'm very pleased to be able
S2: to welcome William right now. William, welcome to Talking Vision.
S2: Thanks so much for your time.
S3: Thank you for having me here, Sam. It's my.
S2: Pleasure. Could you tell us a little bit more about
S2: the mobile app that you have developed as part of
S2: the Inclusive Technologies team at Monash?
S3: Yes, of course. So this app is called Theia, named
S3: after the Greek goddess of vision and sight. And that
S3: was designed to help the blind and low vision community
S3: in independently conducting a self-administered medical test, as well as
S3: being able to independently interpret its results without the involvement
S3: of a site and individual in the process.
S2: What sparked your interest in creating this health care app,
S2: specifically with the blind and low vision community in mind?
S3: That's a great question, Sam. So I'd say the main
S3: thing is equitable health care. So here, Monash, we really
S3: heard the voices of frustration from the blind innovation community
S3: around the inaccessibility of Covid rapid antigen tests during our
S3: last pandemic. And we thought something must be done for
S3: all current and future pandemics to prevent what a blind
S3: and low vision individual had to go through in order
S3: to conduct and interpret their self test results. We firmly
S3: believe that the blind innovation community should be afforded the
S3: same level of health care that a sighted individual is afforded,
S3: and it is simply unacceptable to deny the rights of
S3: a blind and low vision individual in independently and privately
S3: conducting a self-administered medical test the same way that a
S3: sighted person would. So the app started with Professor Patrick Cohen,
S3: who is the professor of neurology at the Alfred Hospital,
S3: coming into contact with my supervisor, Associate Professor Matthew Butler,
S3: who is an accessibility researcher from the Inclusive Technologies Lab.
S3: And Matt came to talk to me about the project,
S3: and I was extremely interested and hooked on to it.
S3: And things kind of took off from there, where I
S3: worked on it for an entire summer last year and
S3: carried it into this year, where we had the pleasure
S3: of inviting two additional researchers onto the team. So Doctor
S3: Anuradha and Doctor Omar and Anuradha Omar both have an
S3: interest in designing inclusive applications. And with this amazing team
S3: we have formed and we applied for a seed grant
S3: from the Monash Institute of Medical Engineering, and we managed
S3: to receive $30,000 in funding. Now, though, it is not
S3: a lot of money, it is enough for us to
S3: kick start things and begin a process of potentially releasing
S3: this application to the public.
S2: And will now's probably a good time to give the
S2: listeners a little bit of a recap of the tests
S2: that the app currently supports, but also looking ahead to
S2: the future. What are the future plans for tyre in
S2: including further tests for people to be able to use?
S3: That's a great question. Thank you Sam. So currently the
S3: application only supports Covid rapid antigen tests. It is a
S3: proof of concept to see whether ideas and design philosophies
S3: are indeed aligned with the blind location community. Now we
S3: plan on including every single medical self-test that the TGA
S3: has approved and is on the market for Australian consumers.
S3: And on top of that, we also plan on including
S3: at home health screening kits such as bowel cancer screening
S3: kits or breast cancer screening kits, etc. and overall, we
S3: expect to include all of these tests within our application
S3: within the next year or two of releasing the application
S3: to the public.
S2: And William, what are the plans to roll out there
S2: to the general public?
S3: This is actually a very, very important question. So we
S3: recognise that there is an application that will interpret the
S3: test results of a self-administered medical test, which means that
S3: it will be regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia.
S3: So there will be quite a lengthy process in us
S3: getting regulatory approval. But it is definitely in our radar.
S3: And after we get TGA approval, that will be when
S3: we can expect the. To be available for the public.
S2: And, um, in terms of how people interpret these results
S2: and what sort of info they can obtain from the app,
S2: what sort of the process there, and what are the
S2: accessibility components that people can look forward to if they
S2: are using this app?
S3: Yeah. So currently there will launch the phone's camera and
S3: automatically begin detecting a test within the frame. So the
S3: first step would be having the app understand what test
S3: a user is taking. So the Apple either attempt to
S3: recognize the packaging or the barcode. And from that point onwards,
S3: we've actually translated all the instructions from the manufacturer into
S3: accessible formats, because we realize that a lot of those
S3: instructions actually relied on graphical aids. And with the results section,
S3: the app will launch the phone's camera, and once it
S3: detects a test within the camera's frame, it will then
S3: decide whether the current frame is clear enough for it
S3: to take a photo, and then it repeats this process
S3: 60 times per second automatically, and will capture a total
S3: of 50 clear images of the test. And I guess
S3: this was one of the main accessibility components that we
S3: have within our app, because we recognize how difficult it
S3: is to take a photo of a rapid antigen test,
S3: or having to make sure that your camera is clear
S3: before you take the photo, which is all. We've automated
S3: the process with a couple of algorithms that we come
S3: up with, and after the 50 clear images are taken,
S3: the apple then select the shoppers and clear as five
S3: photos to be passed through our own AI model, which
S3: will then output a result with a confidence label so
S3: people will be able to tell what results they're getting
S3: without having to consult with a sighted individual. Now, on
S3: top of the AI model approach, we have also included
S3: a share with family or friends option, where the app
S3: will stitch the five clear images together, along with the
S3: manufacturer's interpretation instructions, so that you can share the image
S3: with anyone that you'd like within your contact list, or
S3: any application within your phone that you use the message,
S3: your family or friends. And our last option within our
S3: application is for the user to submit the images that
S3: the phone has taken to a group of annotators, and
S3: we plan on involving general practitioners and other medical professionals
S3: in looking at the results and then communicating the results
S3: through the applications. So there's really a wide range of
S3: interpretation methods for the results that someone can choose from
S3: in our application.
S2: Is there a perhaps scope for the app to interface
S2: with screen readers or something like that on the user's phone,
S2: such as VoiceOver, where it can read the text back
S2: to them in real time? I don't know if that's
S2: sort of realistic or not. Has that been something that's
S2: been explored at any point?
S3: Yes, that was one of the main design guidelines that
S3: we followed during the initial design stages of our application.
S3: It currently, though, is only developed for the iOS platform.
S3: It 100% supports VoiceOver and every element is double triple
S3: check to ensure that it has the right accessibility labels
S3: and everything adheres to the wcaG guidelines.
S2: Today, you're seeking participants for an in-person evaluation session. So, um,
S2: could you provide some information for our listeners about the session,
S2: such as, you know, where it is, how long it'll
S2: go for and the reimbursement and all that sort of thing?
S3: Yeah, of course. So we have reached the stage where
S3: we would really like to run some evaluation sessions in
S3: person to validate some of our design choices. So the
S3: evaluation sessions will indeed be in person, and it'll either
S3: be in Monash or I guess in the homes of
S3: the participant. If that's okay. The evaluation sessions will run
S3: for approximately 80 minutes, and there will be a $75 reimbursement.
S3: Now just a couple points I'd like to tag on.
S3: The evaluation session will not include the participant conducting an
S3: actual rapid antigen test. We have developed some mock tests
S3: that we have 3D printed so that it doesn't it
S3: will not collect any biological samples from the participant.
S2: And that's definitely important info for listeners out there. And
S2: I guess that also puts quite a few people at ease.
S2: So that's great info to pass along for sure. Now,
S2: if people would like to register interest, or perhaps read
S2: the explanatory statement that you and your team have put together,
S2: where can they go to find those?
S3: So we have our website which is Thiat guide. So
S3: that is t h e eye a dot guide. And
S3: if you worked on that website it'll redirect you to
S3: a Google form containing. The explanatory statement, as well as
S3: a form to register interest in participating in our valuation sessions. Now, alternatively,
S3: you could also email me which is William Chen, that
S3: is William chen@monash.edu to register your interest.
S2: Okay. Perfect. Thank you so much William. And hopefully a
S2: lot of people do get in touch and um, give
S2: you some really vital information that will really help this
S2: app go out and help as many people out there
S2: who are blind or have low vision to access the
S2: health care tests that they need. So great initiative there.
S2: So I look forward to hearing how it goes.
S3: Thank you, Sam, and thank you so much for having me.
S2: I've been speaking today with William Chen from the Inclusive
S2: Technology Team at Monash University, one of the developers of
S2: the Thayer Healthcare app for users who are blind or
S2: have low vision. I'm Sam Culley and you're listening to
S2: Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio, Associated Stations of Reading
S2: Radio and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed
S2: that conversation there with William Chen from the Inclusive Technologies team.
S2: If you missed any part of that conversation with William,
S2: I'd love to hear it again. Talking vision is available
S2: on the podcast app of your choice or through the
S2: Vision Australia library. You can also find the program on
S2: the Vision Australia Radio website at RVA radio.org. That's via
S2: radio or one word.org. There's been a lot happening over
S2: the past couple of weeks at Vision Australia. And of course,
S2: looking into the future into the month of April. And
S2: what better person to chat all about it than Stephanie
S2: Steinhoff Pineau from the communications team. Otherwise known as Steph
S2: from comms here for the regular comms wrap to tell
S2: us all about the latest stuff going on. Steph, welcome
S2: back to Talking Vision. Great to have you again.
S4: Thanks, Sam. It's great to be here again.
S2: Now there's been a couple of exciting things going on
S2: in the world of Vision Australia over the last few weeks.
S2: So tell us a little bit about them.
S4: Yeah absolutely. So first up we cast a spotlight on
S4: our woodworking program that we run in Melbourne as well
S4: as Brisbane. So we actually had the ABC visit the
S4: team up in Brisbane. And really they put a focus
S4: on our woodworking team and how they're training people who
S4: are blind or have low vision to, yeah, take on
S4: woodworking as a possible career opportunity, which is great or
S4: just as a hobby. So look, the program currently has
S4: around six or so participants, but it is always looking
S4: to expand and yeah, it's an incredible program. And what
S4: it does, it just opens up another career pathway and
S4: and shows that really it's another possibility for someone who
S4: was blind or has low vision. And there shouldn't be
S4: any limitations on the type of career outcomes that they have.
S4: So it's a really exciting one, and we're really shown
S4: a light as well on the team who does the
S4: training too. So yeah, that was really exciting to have
S4: the ABC come and that should be running in the
S4: next couple of weeks on TV, as well as some
S4: features on their social media.
S2: And tying in quite nicely with that. We've been involved
S2: with a few campaigns in terms of awareness of blindness
S2: and low vision in the wider community over various media.
S2: So tell us a little bit about that project there.
S4: Yeah. Look, I think, um, low vision is a condition
S4: that it's so broad. Right. It, um, it really vision
S4: is such a spectrum and it's one that we've been
S4: really wanting to create more awareness around, about the vast
S4: kind of vision conditions out there and what everyday Aussies
S4: can be doing to ensure that they're being inclusive to
S4: people who are low vision or have low vision rather.
S4: So we created this campaign, The Pupil Project, and it's
S4: a set of six educational videos, short and sweet. The
S4: talent in these videos are actually low vision Aussies, so
S4: they did an incredible job acting in these videos, and
S4: we can't wait to see these launch from the 8th
S4: of April. They'll be launching on social media and then
S4: down the track on some out-of-home billboards as well across
S4: the country. So it'll be a national campaign and we
S4: just can't wait to, um, yes, challenge some common misconceptions
S4: about people living with low vision. And we'll go from there.
S2: Yeah, it's really exciting to be involved in the early
S2: drafting of those campaigns and give my input on what
S2: does and doesn't work and what's really relevant, and matches
S2: up with my lived experience as somebody with low vision.
S2: So this campaign certainly something very close to my heart.
S2: So I'm really keen to see how those come out,
S2: and I'm sure they'll be fantastic and really important messages
S2: in there. Now, just this week coming up, we've got
S2: a couple of really cool things going on. So why
S2: don't you just tell us a little bit about them
S2: and how that's all going?
S4: Yeah. So look, this Good Friday we do have our
S4: Bendigo Easter egg hunt taking place, which is at the
S4: Bendigo Easter Festival this year. We've been lucky to acquire
S4: 100,000 eggs, which is amazing. So local SES workers will
S4: be hiding those for the hunt. We do have our
S4: accessible hunt as well on this year, which is great.
S4: And look, it is an all ages or. All abilities
S4: haunt people from all walks of life, are encouraged to
S4: come in, get involved and yeah, take part in the
S4: Easter fun.
S2: And Steph, there's a giving Day coming up to celebrate
S2: International Guide Dog Day later on in April. So tell
S2: us a little bit about that and the vital funds
S2: that'll go towards raising for seeing our dogs.
S4: Yes. So 24th of April is International Guide Dogs Day.
S4: So we thought it. There's no better day to host
S4: a giving day to raise important funds that will go
S4: back to our CNI dogs programs. So the day we
S4: actually will be setting it up with a phone room
S4: at saying I dogs. So similar to, I guess like
S4: a Good Friday appeal. So we'll have our volunteers. Staff
S4: will have board members, uh, leaders from our executive team
S4: who'll be on the phones waiting as Aussies call in
S4: to make donations. So it'll be a really incredible day.
S4: We will potentially have some media coming down to cover
S4: the day as well. And yeah, it's a first for us,
S4: this kind of big production day and we can't wait
S4: to see the results of it.
S2: And um, also sunrise has got something really cool coming up.
S4: Yes. So this Thursday actually, we've got sunrise coming to
S4: seeing our dogs over at Kensington, which will be so exciting. So, um, Sam,
S4: Mac and the weather team will be broadcasting live from Kensington,
S4: and they'll just be highlighting just the incredible work that
S4: the team does. And we'll just be calling on compassionate
S4: Aussies to take on a puppy and become a puppy carer,
S4: as well as looking into other volunteer opportunities that we have.
S4: So yeah, that'll be exciting.
S2: Well, certainly we'll be exciting. But something else really exciting
S2: is hundred K Your way, which we've heard a little
S2: bit about on the radio over the past little while,
S2: but tell us a little bit more about that and
S2: some exciting developments there.
S4: Things are heading up on the 1st of April. It
S4: will be kicking off and as you may know or
S4: may not know, we do have, um, Sarah Jones from
S4: Fox Footy. She was the first female sports presenter once
S4: upon a time and she's just incredible. She'll be our
S4: official or she is our official ambassador for 100 K
S4: your way, and she'll be choosing to run for the challenge.
S2: Yeah, we're hearing a lot about hundred k your way. And, um,
S2: that does of course run across the whole of April.
S2: There's quite a few teams going on here and there
S2: around the various departments and things at Vision Australia. So
S2: very exciting to see a lot of people getting involved.
S2: And of course, Sarah Jones as the ambassador. That's a
S2: huge win. So really keen to say how that all
S2: unfolds now Steph, and a bit of a change of pace.
S2: There's also in regional areas of Australia, very important work
S2: that the organisation is doing to ensure that people's eHealth
S2: is at its best. So tell us a little bit
S2: about the work that um, we're doing currently in, um,
S2: remote WA.
S4: Yes. So in mid 2023, last year we established a
S4: partnership with Lions Outback Vision in Broome. And basically we
S4: actually have set up a um, specialist service for people
S4: who are blind or have low vision in the remote
S4: area of Broome and in WA, because we did find
S4: that a lot of First Nations people were lacking those
S4: services or access to vision services. And we do know
S4: the research does show that vision conditions are more prevalent
S4: among South First Nations communities. So it was really time
S4: that we set up a permanent kind of service before
S4: we had to kind of fly and fly out model,
S4: but something more concrete needed to be established. So now
S4: that it's all set up, we do have a client
S4: base that is growing over there. So yeah, we actually
S4: are just doing some media around that really just to
S4: actually spread the word that we are in Broome now,
S4: we're permanently in Broome. And you know, whoever needs our
S4: help can definitely contact us and we'll be there. So
S4: we've got one of our service providers, Renee there. And yeah,
S4: she's doing an incredible job and we're really excited to
S4: see more of this stuff. These types of services set
S4: up in remote and regional um, areas because they are needed.
S2: And it started off with Alice Springs where there for
S2: quite a bit, and it's great to hear that it
S2: has spread over to Broome now. So very keen to
S2: see how that all unfolds and um the positive eye
S2: health outcomes. That that can bring to the local communities
S2: there for sure. So very important work and really keen
S2: to see how that goes. Now Steph, thanks so much
S2: for your time today. I've been speaking today with Steph
S2: from the communications team at Vision Australia all about the
S2: latest happenings around the organisation. Steph, thanks so much for
S2: your time. As always. It was a pleasure to have
S2: you on the show again.
S4: Thanks, Sam. Pleasure to be here. Thanks so much.
S2: And now to wrap up with a little bit of
S2: news and information, and the Vision Australia library will be
S2: hosting a couple of events in conjunction with the Melbourne
S2: Writers Festival in early May on the 10th of May.
S2: In fact, Friday night at 6 p.m. we kick off
S2: with Toby Walsh Machines Behaving Badly. Join world leading artificial
S2: intelligence expert Toby Walsh as he examines the possibilities and
S2: perils of emerging AI technologies, from ChatGPT to facial recognition
S2: and self-driving cars. With Elizabeth McCarthy. The gathering pace of
S2: artificial intelligence, including the rollout of ChatGPT, has stunned the
S2: world this past year, fuelling duelling excitement and debate about
S2: its use here. From leading AI expert and machines behaving
S2: badly the morality of AI. Author Toby Walsh for a
S2: discussion about the ethical considerations and unexpected consequences that these
S2: new technologies pose. He chats with Elizabeth McCarthy about a
S2: range of issues, from concerns about the role chatbots may
S2: play in amplifying misinformation, to the ways in which AI
S2: is quietly improving life behind the scenes. That's Toby Walsh
S2: Machines Behaving Badly at 6 p.m. on the 10th of May.
S2: But following on from Toby that same night at 8 p.m.
S2: at the Vision Australia Library, we hear from Louise Milligan
S2: with Pheasants Nest. Award winning writer and journalist Louise Milligan
S2: discusses Pheasants Nest, her stunning debut literary thriller about an
S2: abducted reporter, in conversation with Mark Dupin. A stunning and
S2: surprising literary thriller with a gigantic heart. Pheasants nest is
S2: a novel about an abducted reporter told by award winning
S2: writer and journalist Louise Milligan. It's gained wide acclaim as
S2: a story as addictive as Gone Girl, but with a
S2: distinctive Australian voice and a crime novel that could only
S2: be written by a foreign journalists. So original, funny and true.
S2: Milligan discusses her thrilling debut with Mark Dupin That's Louise Milligan,
S2: Pheasants Nest, at 8 p.m. on the 10th of May
S2: at the Vision Australia Library. And if you'd like to
S2: book your ticket to either one of these events at
S2: the Vision Australia Library on the 10th of May, you
S2: can head to the Melbourne Writer's Festival website at mwv.
S2: Compu that's MWF. Com.au or you can of course head
S2: to the Vision Australia website with registration links and more
S2: information about each event in question@vision.org. That's Vision australia.org and
S2: that's all the time we have for today. You've been
S2: listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision Australia
S2: radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the show
S2: together every week. And remember we love hearing from you.
S2: So please get in touch anytime on our email at
S2: Talking Vision. At Vision australia.org. That's talking vision or one
S2: word at Vision australia.org. But until next week it's Sam
S2: Cowley saying bye for now.
S1: You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
S1: business hours on one 308 4746. That's one 384 746
S1: or by visiting Vision australia.org. That's Vision Australia call.