A new study demonstrates how commercially available head mounted displays (HMD) can be used to simulate the day-to-day challenges faced by people with sight loss from glaucoma. The study suggests potential applications of the technology could include helping policymakers better assess the impact of visual impairment on patients, and helping architects to design more accessible buildings.

Glaucoma is an umbrella term for a group of degenerative eye diseases that affect the optic nerve at the back of the eye. It is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, and is estimated to represent 11% of cases of serious sight impairment in the UK¹.

The study, from the Crabb Lab, at City, University of London, suggests potential applications of the technology could include helping policymakers better assess the impact of visual impairment on patients, and helping architects to design more accessible buildings.

Twenty-two volunteers who did not have glaucoma took part in the study. Participants wore a HMD while performing various tasks in either virtual or augmented reality.

In the virtual reality task, participants were placed in a simulation of a typical, ‘cluttered’ house. Moving their eyes and head allowed them to look around it in order to find a mobile phone hidden somewhere in the house.

In the augmented reality task, participants navigated a real-life, human-sized ‘mouse maze’, which they viewed through cameras in the front of the HMD.

Story Source: Materials provided by City University London. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.