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Testing visual field in virtual reality environment enhances accessibility for patients

Sunday, November 3, 2024
11:20 AM - 11:30 AM
Panorama Rooms 2 & 3

Overview

Jacinta Walz


Speaker

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Jacinta Walz
University of Technology Sydney

Testing visual field in virtual reality environment enhances accessibility for patients

Abstract

Automated visual field assessment usually relies on subjective responses such as a button press to indicate seeing. Light intensity is varied according to the correct response. The method has been well-defined to obtain psychometric functions to estimate threshold values at various field locations. It is the most difficult test for clinical patients because it requires fixed head positioning, steady central fixation at the point of target presentation, manual button-pressing which some patients are not able to perform, and is repetitive. The emerging technology of vision testing in virtual Reality (VR) makes visual field testing more portable and does not restrict patients as they are not required to sit upright with their chin on a chin rest. However, the new technology is still limited in the way that it records the patient’s responses. In this pilot study, a visual field test was devised in VR goggles, and each eye was tested individually. Gaze tracking data, including eye positions and pupil diameters, as well as button-press responses were recorded. The feasibility of each type of response was studied and compared to the Humphrey visual field test. Testing the visual field in VR may give patients more motor response options that can be chosen according to their physical capabilities.

Biography

Jacinta Walz is a clinical orthoptist at the Save Sight Institute in Sydney, and a researcher at the University of Technology, Sydney. Jacinta's undergraduate studies in vision science and mathematics lead her to a research path specialising in the impact of traumatic brain injury on visual function, and low vision. As a clinician, she works with patients with low vision and blindness due to inherited retinal diseases, inflammatory eye disease, and neuro-ophthalmic conditions, including specialised electrophysiology testing. Her current research interests also include adapting clinical assessments to increase the accessibility of testing for broader patient populations.
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