Description:
Method and Apparatus for the Treatment of Binocular Dysfunctions
NJIT Case No. 16-001
Inventors: Marc Sequeria, Tara Lynn Alvarez, Chang Yaramothu, John Vito d’Antonio-Bertagnolli, Mitchell Scheiman, Robert Gioia
Intellectual Property & Development status: US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and Canada Patent Protection is pending.
NJIT is currently seeking commercial partners for the further development and commercialization of this opportunity.
Technology Brief:
Researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology in the Department of Biomedical Engineering have invented a 3D virtual reality game that using eye movement to train disparity vergence for patients with binocular vision disorder.
Eye movements are needed to bring visual information to the brain. Eye movement disorders are present in about 8-10% of the population and in up to 50% of the brain injury populations. Convergence insufficiency (CI) is a binocular vision disorder and is characterized by reduced near point of convergence, shown in the diagram. Symptoms of CI include diplopia (double vision), blurred vision, asthenopia (eyestrain), and headaches when engaged in reading or other near work that negatively impacts activities in day-to-day living. While current vision therapy works well in patients with CI, it is mundane, boring and expensive. The invention is a virtual reality 3D game that engages a person’s attention using a head mounted display controlled by eye movement. It uses eye position within a 3D virtual reality game to stimulate disparity vergence abruptly and smoothly while keeping accommodative vergence constant. By having the patient use eye tracking to navigate an interactive game, it has potential to improve patient compliance and allow rehabilitation to occur within a home setting.
Advantages
• Inexpensive
• Interactive
• Improve patient compliance
• Can be used in a home setting
• Accommodative for any head mounted display
Applications
• Binocular vision disorder
• Brain injury
• Disparity vergence
Inventors Bio:
Tara Alvarez, professor of biomedical engineering, is conducting neuroscience research that could help stroke victims recover their vision but also lead to diagnosis of other visual diseases. Alvarez seeks to understand how the brain learns when visually locating objects in three-dimensional (3D) space. Understanding the learning strategies that the human brain uses to control eye movement will also yield insight into the general problem of motor learning. Her research will lead to a better understanding of basic motor control and also discover how dysfunctions in the eyes’ three-dimensional tracking system affect motor learning.