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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Customizing a Cryolite Glass Prosthetic Eye
Published on: October 31, 2019
Gaze Compensation as a Technique for Improving Hand-Eye Coordination in Prosthetic Vision
Samuel A Titchener1,2, Mohit N Shivdasani1,2, James B Fallon1,2
1The Bionics Institute of Australia, East Melbourne, Australia.
Purpose:
Shifting the region-of-interest within the input image to compensate for gaze shifts ("gaze compensation") may improve hand-eye coordination in visual prostheses that incorporate an external camera. The present study investigated the effects of eye movement on hand-eye coordination under simulated prosthetic vision (SPV), and measured the coordination benefits of gaze compensation.
Methods:
Seven healthy-sighted subjects performed a target localization-pointing task under SPV. Three conditions were tested, modeling: retinally stabilized phosphenes (uncompensated); gaze compensation; and no phosphene movement (center-fixed). The error in pointing was quantified for each condition.
Results:
Gaze compensation yielded a significantly smaller pointing error than the uncompensated condition for six of seven subjects, and a similar or smaller pointing error than the center-fixed condition for all subjects (two-way ANOVA, P < 0.05). Pointing error eccentricity and gaze eccentricity were moderately correlated in the uncompensated condition (azimuth: R2 = 0.47; elevation: R2 = 0.51) but not in the gaze-compensated condition (azimuth: R2 = 0.01; elevation: R2 = 0.00). Increased variability in gaze at the time of pointing was correlated with greater reduction in pointing error in the center-fixed condition compared with the uncompensated condition (R2 = 0.64).
Conclusions:
Eccentric eye position impedes hand-eye coordination in SPV. While limiting eye eccentricity in uncompensated viewing can reduce errors, gaze compensation is effective in improving coordination for subjects unable to maintain fixation.
Translational Relevance:
The results highlight the present necessity for suppressing eye movement and support the use of gaze compensation to improve hand-eye coordination and localization performance in prosthetic vision.
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