Depth perception after prolonged usage of night vision goggles

The present study was initiated following a report that a few helicopter pilots had failed a test of stereoscopic depth perception after a prolonged training flight employing night vision goggles (NVGs). In order to determine the cause of the loss, 12 helicopter pilots/copilots were assessed for depth perception, lateral and vertical phoria, and contrast sensitivity before and after training flights requiring the pilots to wear night vision goggles for the duration of the flight. Pilots flew one to three missions while wearing either PVS-5A or AN/AVS-6 goggles. Mission duration ranged from 1 to 4 h. The results indicate that contrast sensitivity and depth perception when monocular cues are present did not degrade over the course of the mission. Lateral phoria, however, did demonstrate an average exophoric shift of 1.5 prism diopters for 12 out of the 24 missions. The results indicate that the original report of a loss of depth perception based on a test of depth requiring stereopsis might have been caused by a shift in lateral phoria. It would be expected that as additional fusional effort is required, the minimum resolvable disparity degrades due to the increase in accommodation brought about through vergence accommodation. Possible causes for the phoria shift and future testing are discussed.