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Development of a Gaze-Contingent Display Framework Designed for Perceptual and Oculomotor Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
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Performance of complex visual tasks using simulated prosthetic vision via augmented-reality glasses.
Elton Ho1,2, Jack Boffa2, Daniel Palanker2,3
1Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Journal of Vision
|November 27, 2019
Summary
Subretinal prostheses show promise for restoring vision in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Simulated prosthetic vision enabled accurate face recognition and reading, even with lower resolutions, indicating functional visual restoration potential.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) causes central vision loss.
- Subretinal prostheses aim to restore vision for AMD patients.
- Simulating prosthetic vision is crucial for evaluating its efficacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the utility of simulated prosthetic central vision for complex visual tasks.
- To assess the impact of resolution, field of view, and grayscale levels on visual task performance.
- To evaluate the feasibility of reading and face recognition with simulated subretinal implants.
Main Methods:
- Augmented-reality (AR) glasses simulated reduced acuity, contrast, and visual field.
- Participants completed vision charts, sentence reading, and face recognition tasks.
- Image quality was adjusted via user-defined parameters: pixel size, field of view, and grayscale levels.
Main Results:
- Letter acuity exceeded the pixel-sampling limit by 0.2 logMAR.
- Reading speed decreased with larger pixel sizes and reduced visual fields (7°-12°).
- Face recognition accuracy exceeded 75% with 100 μm pixels and two grayscale levels, reaching >97% with 60 μm pixels and eight grayscale levels.
Conclusions:
- Simulated prosthetic vision demonstrated feasibility for reading and face recognition.
- Performance was robust even with 100 μm pixels, with improvements at smaller pixel sizes.
- Subretinal prostheses hold significant potential for restoring functional central vision in AMD patients.
