ARVO used Fork in the Road simulators on Capitol Hill

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) used our simulators to demonstrate the importance of funding for vision research to US lawmakers. Several young Congressional staff members were tasked with collecting three carrots and two strawberries in a buffet line while wearing Fork in the Road's low vision simulator goggles. For the first time in the post–World War II era, the federal government no longer funds a majority of the basic research carried out in the United States.

The simulators that ARVO purchased represented the visual conditions associated with the leading causes of vision impairment in the USA: age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. In addition, the simulators helped the lawmakers and their staffs understand the impact of inherited eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and Stargardt disease.

ARVO is the largest and most respected eye and vision research organization in the world with nearly 12,000 researchers from over 75 countries.

I’m happy to share that our low-vision exhibit featuring your goggles was a huge hit during the Life Sciences Fair on Capitol Hill last night. I took your advice and had several of the young Congressional staff members try to navigate the buffet line with the goggles on. Even the brief experience of trying to collect “three carrots and two strawberries” clearly left an impact. I’m really grateful for your excellent goggles and look forward to using them again in future ARVO outreach efforts.

- Matt Windsor, PhD ,
Senior Manager, Science Communications, ARVO: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology,
after an event on Capitol Hill, Washington DC