VR is being used to treat various eyesight conditions
Virtual reality technology is being used more and more in the medical field to help treat patients for different symptoms and more recently this includes improving eyesight. DPVR has supplied wireless VR headset to Vivid Vision who is an enterprise that provides virtual reality treatment with data tracking and analysis tools to help people with their eyesight.
“We have seen an increasing need for VR solutions that can help people with their eyesight.
It is great to see that VR technology is bringing positive changes to these people’s lives, and now they can read, work and live in a more independent way.”
“We have partnered with DPVR to customize a new VR headset for Vivid Vision Home use that comes pre-loaded with the Vivid Vision Home software.
Compared with other headsets used before, now patients can start vision care treatment without setup or installation hassles. This powerful system allows people to duplicate in-clinic therapy right at home, and it offers a cost-effective solution to both patients and clinics.”
What eyesight symptoms can VR help treat?
"We're excited to offer patients a convenient at home therapy option, to allow more flexibility for our Vision Therapy patients!"
Vivid Vision use our virtual reality headsets together with their specially designed VR software to treat many different eyesight health problems such as;
- Identify strabismus (eye muscle imbalance)
- To assess binocular vision (use of both eyes to see)
- Treat suppression and amblyopia (dimness of vision without any apparent disease of the eye) Anisometropic amblyopia occurs when there is a high degree of nearsightedness or farsightedness in one or both eyes. This form of amblyopia may occur when there is a focusing difference between the two eyes. This may be caused by conditions such as astigmatism, hyperopia, or myopia. The brain only sees with the stronger eye, and as a consequence, the vision in the weaker eye does not develop.
- Treat problems of vergence (inability to direct the two eyes at the same location).
Is VR an effective form of eye treatment?
Vivid Vision joined a clinical trial which was published in BMC Ophthalmology. The study shows utilizing VR headsets to apply dichoptic visual training is a potentially beneficial treatment for amblyopia. 17 adults with amblyopia were given dichoptic visual training using DPVR virtual reality headsets and the Diplopia Game, which was developed by Vivid Vision.
The patients chose between a space game and a block breaker game in which they had to direct a spaceship through rings in an obstacle. Each game had a “dichoptic setting,” which integrated the notion of dichoptic visual training with the game’s objectives. The colorful cosmic barriers in the space game were only visible in the less favoured eye, while the spacecraft were only visible in the favoured eye, forcing patients to use both eyes at the same time.
The outcomes of dichoptic training using a virtual reality head-mounted display was very positive & delivered an effective treatment option.
Is VR used in eyesight medical clinics?
Vivid Vision was founded in 2013 and they have providers around the world that are using VR in their eyesight medical clinics to treat their patients. The virtual reality therapy works by using specially developed games that combine perceptual learning and dichoptic stimulation. This combination of technologies using VR allows the clinician to measure, treat, and control changes in interocular suppression.
This creates a VR based solution for the medical treatment of eyesight that is;
- Cost-effective as the VR headset can be used for multiple patients.
- Highly customised for Vivid Vision’s particular use case.
- High performing processing due to the hardware inside our VR headsets.
- A VR solution that can be changed and tweaked to suit the evolving needs of Vivid Vision. Rather than large pieces of medical equipment, the software can be updated for all the clinics very easily.
Can Vivid Vision be used at home?
For quite a few people they might be interested in getting their eyesight treatment at home. One of the benefits of using a VR headset is how easy they are to use in different locations.
Whether you can get treatment at home depends on what visual disorders you have. Only a trained eye care professional like an optometrist or ophthalmologist can tell you which is the right choice for you.
Many doctors will start with an exam or binocular vision evaluation in order to design the right treatment program based on your diagnosis. Vivid Vision is not a DIY program. Often patients begin treatment with in-office sessions and over time their doctor will add in Vivid Vision Home.
Depending on your diagnosis, some doctors may be able to prescribe the Vivid Vision Home solution that uses the DPVR VR headset straight away.
"After my strabismus surgery, it was Vivid Vision Home that helped re-teach my brain to use both eyes and it only took a few weeks to see a huge improvement."
How is VR being used around the world for eyesight improvement?
There is another start up called GiveVision who have created a device called SightPlus that aims to restore vision to people whose eyesight has deteriorated beyond repair by projecting a video of the real world into the working part of the retina.
A clinical trial at Moorfields Eye Hospital suggested it improved eyesight in 59 of the 60 participants, with nearly half saying they would wear the device for watching TV, reading or going to the theatre. The company is reported to be moving to creating it’s next VR device using the findings from the study.
VR is being used for people with vision loss
Vision Buddy has designed a wearable TV viewing system designed for people with eye and vision conditions. It means that a person with macular degeneration, glaucoma, or retinitis pigmentosa can put on the headset to watch their favorite TV shows. It has built in adjustments that enables them to zoom in and out to suit their viewing needs.
So, as you can see, VR is being used in many different ways to either help people treat their eyesight issues or live a normal life with them. Some people may be reading this and wondering why we are even mentioning other companies who use VR software or hardware, but really, it is about celebrating this industry sector and the amazing developments that are coming from it to help people around the world.
VR headset customisation
DPVR is a virtual reality headset manufacturer that can provide customised VR headset hardware and software to suit specific applications. We can do things such as;
- Printing a brand name on the faceplates.
- Updating the menu system image.
- Building a custom user interface.
- Assisting in the design of unique packaging.
- Providing access to API packages for other integrations.
The P1 Ultra 4K is our enterprise focussed headset that even has the ability to add customised modules like biometric scanning, heart rate monitor & other elements to suit different needs
