{"693086":{"#nid":"693086","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Macular Mailbox Delivers More Than a Message","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELook directly at someone you love. What do you see?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor people living with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.macular.org\/about-macular-degeneration\/what-is-macular-degeneration?gad_source=1\u0026amp;gad_campaignid=1064564589\u0026amp;gbraid=0AAAAADguempY2Sq3AAOB--rJltmh9K4AE\u0026amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw5P7UBhDaARIsAOSlS1Nc6Y0DPSQXTBJFPuAlHU25A2xY0gFaaodU2MSz_Jri6LMvyxSYKRkaAoQfEALw_wcB\u0022\u003Eage-related macular degeneration\u003C\/a\u003E (AMD), the answer can be unexpectedly complicated. Over time, AMD can blur the details that make a face familiar: a crooked smile, a furrowed brow, the expressions that make someone unmistakably themselves.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut vision loss affects more than sight.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou\u2019re looking at your loved ones, but you\u2019re not really seeing them,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.soyounjang.com\/\u0022\u003ESoyoun Jang\u003C\/a\u003E, a Georgia Tech Ph.D. candidate in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/dm.lmc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Edigital media\u003C\/a\u003E and the project\u2019s lead researcher. \u201cMacular degeneration requires us to build new relationships with not just other people, but the world that surrounds us.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAMD gradually damages the macula, the part of the eye responsible for sharp central vision. As their sight changes, patients can use vision training to make better use of the sight they still have.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut Jang and a team of Georgia Tech researchers wondered whether that training could do something else: help people with AMD stay connected to family and friends.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESpecial Delivery\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe answer arrived in a place few researchers would think to look: a mailbox.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team created Macular Mailbox, a virtual reality prototype that combines vision-training exercises with personalized digital postcards that connect patients with family members and clinicians.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach completed exercise delivers more than feedback \u2014 it delivers a message.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInside the prototype, users focus on a postcard image as part of a vision-training exercise. When they complete the task, the postcard flips over, revealing a message and voice note.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead of earning points or badges, users receive something personal: a grandchild\u2019s voice, a note from a spouse, or an update from another family member.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESigned, Sealed\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers chose postcards because they offered something familiar to older adults inside an unfamiliar technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA postcard isn\u2019t new,\u201d Jang said. \u201cIt\u2019s probably the oldest thing in the whole Macular Mailbox system.\u201d Its front-and-back format also fit the exercise, and postcards do not require family members to be available at the same time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESending postcards back wasn\u2019t part of the original design. The idea came later: What if patients could make something of their own and send it back?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWrite Back\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUntil then, the mailbox only accepted incoming mail. The team decided the mailbox needed a return address.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe updated prototype allows patients to take a picture, record a message, and create their own digital postcard. And the act of making it becomes part of the training: framing a photo and holding focus use some of the same visual skills patients have been practicing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe person receiving care could now make something and send it back.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPostcards might carry a glimpse of the garden, a pet curled up in a chair, or a sunset from the porch.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKeep in Touch\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMany vision rehabilitation tools focus on reading, navigation, and other daily tasks. This project puts people at the center \u2014 not how well they can read a screen or navigate a room, but how they can remain part of the moments, relationships, and routines that make up everyday life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat this project offers is a different way of thinking about care,\u201d Jang said. \u201cNot just one way, but really putting family, clinician, and patient at the same table.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor now, Macular Mailbox remains a prototype.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe next step is a series of co-design workshops with patients, family members, and clinicians. Participants will test the headset and help the researchers better understand each group\u2019s roles, concerns, goals, and constraints.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;_____________________________\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAMD can make it difficult to look directly at someone you love and see the details that make them familiar, but connection lives beyond what the eye can see. It exists in the sound of their voice, an inside joke, or a moment in an ordinary day. And at the mailbox, there\u2019s still something to send back \u2014 and someone waiting to receive it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EJang, S., Huang, H., Hanna, B. E., Wang, X., Primo, S., \u0026amp; Nitsche, M. (2026). Asymmetric VR design to support connected care for older adults with AMD.\u0026nbsp;Design Research Society, 2026: Edinburgh. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.21606\/drs.2026.817\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers are exploring new ways to help people with macular degeneration see and be seen."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers developed Macular Mailbox, a virtual reality prototype designed to help people with age-related macular degeneration maintain personal connections. The system combines vision training with digital postcards exchanged among patients, family members, and clinicians. \u2022 Users complete visual exercises to reveal personalized messages and voice notes, replacing conventional rewards with meaningful\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Efamily contact. \u2022 An updated version lets patients create postcards by taking pictures and recording messages, while practicing visual skills such as framing and maintaining focus. \u2022 The prototype\u2019s next phase involves co-design workshops with patients, family members, and clinicians to assess their needs and guide development.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Macular Mailbox trains the eye while keeping loved ones in sight."}],"uid":"36410","created_gmt":"2026-10-05 18:46:21","changed_gmt":"2026-10-05 20:12:33","author":"mazriel3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-10-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-10-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681359":{"id":"681359","type":"image","title":"Macular Mailbox","body":"\u003Cp\u003EThe images shown in the VR headset for the Macular Mailbox\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1791225711","gmt_created":"2026-10-05 18:41:51","changed":"1791225924","gmt_changed":"2026-10-05 18:45:24","alt":"The images shown in the VR headset for the Macular Mailbox","file":{"fid":"265739","name":"PRL-training-module-pg12.gif","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/05\/PRL-training-module-pg12.gif","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/05\/PRL-training-module-pg12.gif","mime":"image\/gif","size":6764269,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/10\/05\/PRL-training-module-pg12.gif?itok=EA-M3mNa"}}},"media_ids":["681359"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"143","name":"Digital Media and Entertainment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"124","name":"Digital Media"},{"id":"145251","name":"virtual reality"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMichelle Azriel\u003Cbr\u003ESenior Writer-Editor\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EResearch Communications\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:mazriel3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emazriel3@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["mazriel3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}