Implementation of a Virtual Reality rendered in Portable Devices for Strabismus Treatment based on Conventional Visual Therapy

Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2019 Jul:2019:7189-7192. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2019.8857222.

Abstract

In order to propose alternative treatments for strabismus, conventional visual therapies implemented in VR, which could be rendered in portable devices for pediatric strabismus treatment is proposed in this paper. In comparison with other virtual environments for visual correction proposes, the proposed system is based on conventional visual therapies for amblyopia and strabismus treatment. Three fundamental visual therapeutic exercises were considered in the present proposal: (1) Brock cord, (2) approach technique, and (3) convergence and divergence. The first exercise, Brock Cord, has the purpose of improving the binocular fixation for exotropia and esotropia. The second exercise pursues to normalize the Cerebral Perfusion Pressure by an approach technique. The third exercise known as fusion of eccentric circles, aims vision training by converging and diverging objects at specific distances. Before a clinical application, it was paramount important to guarantee system simplicity and versatility for both clinicians and infant patients. Therefore, the user experience evaluation of a sample of 45 students between 17 and 28 years old was undertaken. The system proposed in this paper achieved a pragmatic quality above average (1.73), a parameter that reflects simplicity and versatility. In addition, the present VR system displayed attractiveness (2.03) and hedonic (1.90) qualities above average. Then, it is expected that end-users will follow the visual exercise program.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Amblyopia / therapy*
  • Esotropia / therapy*
  • Exotropia / therapy*
  • Humans
  • Strabismus / therapy*
  • Virtual Reality*
  • Vision, Binocular
  • Young Adult