15Jul/15Off
Simulated reality is creating new possibilities for testing vision, capturing surgery and helping those with limited vision.
One of the most promising uses of virtual reality in medicine is creating performance tests that simulate real-life conditions. (Traditional tests may bear little relation to the visual challenges faced by patients every day.) Their study used the Oculus Rift device to test subjects’ balance response to vection—the sense of motion we feel when the environment around us moves (or appears to move).
Dr. Medeiros points out that virtual reality offers ophthalmology a chance to break free of the traditional constraints of in-office testing. “Studies have shown that tests like the standard visual field are not very predictive of how patients actually perform in the real world,” he says.