Computer game for rehabilitating young people with visual field loss
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Can a computer game designed to rehabilitate young people with visual field loss improve functional vision?
IRAS ID
140865
Contact name
Jonathan Waddington
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Lincoln
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN90462176
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
The visual field is the entire space that can be perceived when the eyes are fixating directly ahead. Damage to the visual pathway between the eyes and brain can result in a partial or whole loss of the visual field. For example, patients with a left sided visual field loss would have no visual perception of what is on their left side but could still have useful and even very good vision remaining to see what is on their right side.
Functional vision is the ability to perform everyday tasks that rely on vision such as crossing the road or reading.
Visual scanning strategies can be taught to adults with visual field loss so that they can compensate for their visual impairment with eye and head movements to improve functional vision. Training with computer software that requires active scanning of visual images presented on the screen has allowed adult stroke patients to develop their own compensatory strategies. However, learning these strategies requires weeks of training, and the software is often unable to keep young people motivated as it is typically taken directly from laboratory experiments and not designed to be fun or engaging.
We have developed a computer game that has been designed for young people with visual field loss, and can be played on a home computer. We intend to run a feasibility study with young people to observe whether participants will remain engaged with the rehabilitation program if it is presented as a computer game, and also to record measures of functional vision over the course of the training to determine if there are improvements or beneficial effects for participants.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NE/0097
Date of REC Opinion
30 May 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion