A way to identify items

We usually recommend less expensive adaptive equipment but we discovered a new item that might be very helpful to some people, the PenFriend 2 Voice Labeling System ($150). The PenFriend comes with labels and a scanner which has a built in microphone. Someone who is using the PenFriend first chooses an item they want to identify. They then record the information that they want onto the label, for example chicken soup. The label is then affixed to the can the person wants to identify. They then can pick up the can and have the PenFriend scan the label. It will read back to you the information you recorded, "chicken soup." Each item that someone wants to identify at a later point has its own label. The PenFriend will read each label and play back the information that was previously recorded.

This is an easy way to identify can goods, frozen food, important papers, CD's or items of clothing. More labels can be ordered allowing many hundreds of items to be easily identified. It is very easy to use and can be helpful.

The PenFriend is not for everyone but might be just the right tool for some low vision patients.