Pilot study comparing a new virtual reality-based visual field test to standard perimetry in children

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Technology
• Virtual Reality

Background:

• Visual field testing is crucial for diagnosing and monitoring various ocular conditions.
• Traditional methods like Humphrey visual field (HVF) testing can be challenging for pediatric patients.
• Virtual reality (VR) offers a novel platform for developing more engaging and potentially more accurate diagnostic tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the clinical feasibility and performance of Vivid Vision Perimetry (VVP), a new VR-based visual field platform.
• To compare VVP with the established Humphrey visual field (HVF) testing in a pediatric population.

Main Methods:

• Children aged 7-18 with good visual acuity underwent VVP testing, a VR test using suprathreshold stimuli.
• VVP calculates a fraction seen score, and Pearson correlation assessed its relationship with HVF mean sensitivity.
• Participants completed surveys regarding their experience with VVP and HVF.

Main Results:

• All 23 pediatric participants (37 eyes) successfully completed VVP testing.
• VVP demonstrated clinical feasibility, with a significant correlation (0.48, P=0.02) between VVP and HVF scores when unreliable tests were excluded.
• All participants preferred VVP over HVF, with 70% reporting high satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• Vivid Vision Perimetry (VVP) is a clinically feasible VR-based visual field test for pediatric patients.
• The platform was uniformly preferred by children over conventional HVF testing.
• VVP represents a promising advancement in pediatric ophthalmology for visual field assessment.