Evaluation of the effectiveness of Cambridge Visual Stimulator treatment in amblyopia patients: a retrospective study

This study aimed to evaluate the long-term efficacy of the Cambridge Visual Stimulator (CAM) in pediatric amblyopia, by comparing outcomes of standard occlusion therapy alone versus occlusion combined with CAM.

In this retrospective cohort, 112 patients (112 eyes) aged ≤10 years with strabismic or anisometropic amblyopia were assigned to one of two groups. Group 1 (n = 64) received three hours/day of occlusion therapy; Group 2 (n = 48) received the same occlusion regimen plus a supervised 5-day CAM course (six rotating high-contrast spatial-frequency disks, 18 minutes daily). Best-corrected visual acuity was recorded in logMAR at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Within-group improvements were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and between-group differences with the Mann - Whitney U test. P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Both groups showed significant acuity gains at 6 and 12 months versus baseline (p < .001 for all comparisons). Numerically, Group 2 improved more (6 months: -0.137 ± 0.231 vs. -0.127 ± 0.196; 12 months: -0.192 ± 0.267 vs. -0.190 ± 0.225), but these differences did not reach significance (6 months p = .402; 12 months p = .883).

Occlusion therapy markedly enhances visual acuity in amblyopic children, whereas adjunctive CAM yields only limited additional benefit. Prospective, larger-scale trials are needed to determine whether specific subgroups - such as treatment-resistant cases - may derive clinically meaningful gains from CAM.