Head-Mounted Dynamic Visual Acuity for G-Transition Effects During Interplanetary Spaceflight: Technology Development...

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Aerospace Medicine
• Human Factors Engineering

Background:

• Dynamic visual acuity (DVA) is crucial for tasks requiring rapid responses to environmental changes, such as in spaceflight.
• Astronauts experience significant DVA decrease after long-duration space missions.
• NASA is developing head-mounted visual assessment systems for spaceflight monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and engineer dynamic visual acuity (DVA) assessments using virtual reality (VR) technology.
• To assess astronaut performance during G-transitional effects.
• To validate VR DVA assessment against traditional computer-based methods.

Main Methods:

• Utilized VR/AR headsets (HTC Vive Pro Eye) and Unreal Engine 4.
• Implemented eye-tracking technology for participant fixation.
• Conducted an early validation study comparing VR DVA with laptop-based DVA in five participants.

Main Results:

• The developed head-mounted DVA technology is functional for assessing vision changes during G-transitions.
• VR DVA and laptop-based DVA showed a strong association (Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.91).
• Bland-Altman analysis confirmed good agreement between the two DVA assessment methods.

Conclusions:

• Head-mounted VR DVA assessment is a viable and promising method comparable to traditional laptop-based assessments.
• This technology can aid in monitoring astronaut functionality and safety during spaceflight, especially during G-transitions.
• VR DVA offers potential to replace conventional methods due to its portability and ease of use.