At this years annual American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting, a study was introduced that was conducted in India that may hold the key to treating amblyopia, or lazy eye as it is commonly known. Over the course of a year 100 participants were followed with different treatments. Those who were giving electronic games and were able to see great improvements while the other 60 found average improvements with the standard treatments. Most improvements were seen in patients under 14 as opposed to those who were 14 and older.
Dr. Somen Ghosh separated the patients into 4 groups. Each person was given a special pair of eyeglasses that block the stronger eye and must be worn at least for 2 hours a day whole they exercised their weak eye. Group 1 followed the basic treatments and was used as the control group. Group 2 took a supplement that contained micronutrients considered important to good vision. Group 3 played at least one hour of video games daily using only the weaker eye. Group 4 took the supplement citicoline, which is associated with improved brain function.
The games that group 3 used were common shooter games for PC. Playing these with just minimal vision quality forced the eye to focus more on the movement on the screen and allow the eye to strengthen over time. This is similar to strengthening muscle motor skills after injuries. The forced pressure on the eye improved the muscles in the region and allowed faster activity in the receptors.
One of the 16 year olds who participated in the study is now able to experience good vision after a great decline in vision quality the previous three years. After being told he was too old to have his vision corrected he was told to partake in the study and was assigned to group 3. Along with vision improvement he experienced improvement in academic performance overall.
"Playing the shooting games while using just my weaker eye was hard at first, but after a few months I could win all game levels easily," said Sen. "I'm very happy that I stuck with the program. My vision has improved a lot, so that I now have no trouble studying or taking exams. My tennis game also improved, and of course I'm now a pro PC gamer."
"The cooperation of the patient is very important, maybe even crucial, to successful treatment of amblyopia," said Dr. Ghosh. "We should never give up on our patients, even the older children, but instead offer them hope and treatment designed to help them achieve better vision."
Glad to see so many advances in the science fields that video games are helping break ground in.
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