Can Virtual Reality Fix My Lazy Eye or Strabismus?

Hey, it's Melissa. I have Strabismus, which is an eye condition where my eyes don't point in the same direction

And just in case you don't believe me because my eyes look straight right now, here is a picture of me just over a year ago

So I've gone through surgery and tons of therapy, getting my eyes to become straight and to work together

And one of the big questions I get asked is can virtual reality help fix my lazy eye or strabismus or amblyopia

People use these terms interchangeably even though they definitely don't mean the same thing

So this video is going to be all about whether virtual reality can help

And I'll just give the short answer, yes, definitely. I have gone through four different types of virtual reality throughout the last three years in vision therapy

and I have gained so much through the use of virtual reality

Now, there's a lot more to it than that, so if you want more, then keep watching

In order to understand how virtual reality can help, first we need to understand what the problem is

So we've got two different conditions. We've got strabismus, and that's where the eyes don't point in the same direction

and sometimes it's called squint or exotropia, esotropia, hypertropia, wall-eyed, cross-eyed, lots of different nicknames. Basically the eyes

don't point the same direction. The other side you have amblyopia and that is where one eye is like

really blurry and you can't correct it with glasses and there's just like a missing connection

between the brain and the eyes So it not that they need glasses it that the brain doesn use both eyes correctly That like the very layman term of how that all works But sometimes people have both strabismus and amblyopia Sometimes

strabismus causes amblyopia. Sometimes amblyopia causes strabismus. And they, a lot of times

go hand in hand. Lots of people have both, but it is possible to have straight eyes and amblyopia

one eye that doesn't work well. And it's possible to have strabismus and have both eyes that work

really well. So there's a lot of different scenarios here, but those are the two main

cases that I'm going to talk about today. So virtual reality is really cool because

I'm going to show you this. Inside the virtual reality, you can see there's two different

screens and there's one for each eye. And so you can develop apps and games and programs

so that each eye has seen something different. So in a normal virtual reality game like Beat Saber

or all these, there's a ton of games. They design it so that each eye has this different view and

it creates a 3D world, kind of like how normal people with normal vision view the world

So a normal virtual reality app is not going to fix strabismus or amblyopia because

it's just mimicking what we see in everyday life. So if that was going to fix it, so would

walking around in everyday life. So normal apps aren't going to fix it. And maybe in some cases

it can stimulate the other eye enough because it's like right there. But in more severe cases

and in most cases, it's not going to make a difference to just play Beat Saber

But there are specific apps that have been designed to help with vision, to help with

to help with amblyopia So these apps use lots of different settings and there three main settings that I think they use that are really helpful So one they use blur and contrast

so that they can make it so that one eye is really seeing a blurry image. Like for example

this is my weak eye, this is my strong eye. So they'd make it so that my weak eye gets this like

really great contrast, beautiful picture on my weak eye. And then my strong eye gets a more blurred

picture. So they're still both looking at the same scene. A second way that these apps make

adjustments for people like me is they make the games dicoptic. And what that means is that certain

parts of the game can be seen with both eyes. Certain parts can be seen with the weak eye and

certain parts can be seen with the strong eye. And what that does is it makes it so that both

eyes have to be working. For example, if you're playing ping pong, the weak eye would see the ball

the strong eye would only be able to see the racket. And so in order to play the game

you'd have to be using both at the same time. Another awesome tool is using prism. So prism

is when, so that if I'm looking forward at my camera and this eye is not looking at the camera

it moves the camera over to where my eye is looking so that both eyes are looking at a camera

and my brain can learn to put those two pictures together and to get that fusion and depth

hopefully, eventually. So all of these settings can be used together if the patient needs all of

them or certain settings can be used for certain people. And it definitely depends on the type of

virtual reality program that you're using. Right now, there's two different programs that are

designed by an optometrist that are fantastic for treating strabismus and amblyopia They a vivid vision and optics trainer and I have videos about those that you can watch if you want to know

all of those details. They both have games that use the ticoptic exercises, prism, blur

all of the different things that I've talked about in this video. They have all of it. They're very comprehensive. There's another one coming out right now called, oh great

now I can't forget. Lumen something. Luminopia. Luminopia. And it is made by ophthalmologists

basically to replace patching. So you get on and you basically just watch videos where one of your

eyes is more blurred out. Your strong eyes blurred and your weak eye can see really well. And so

it's basically a replacement for patching, but way more fun and effective. So I'm excited to see

what that's all about. It's coming out in 2022, the second quarter. So anytime now

And that's all. Virtual reality is an awesome tool. I think that anyone with strabismus or

amblyopia should definitely look into it. You do need to go through an optometrist or an

ophthalmologist. And I have a lot more information about how to do that on my website, strabismus

solutions.com. If you want to know more about virtual reality, there's a whole section dedicated

just for the different programs that are offered on the website. So definitely go check that out and keep watching these videos if they're helping you

If you have lots of questions and you want to talk to me, you can schedule a consult at strabismusolutions.com slash consult

and I can help you through whatever you're going through and get you pointed in the right direction

so that you can get your eyes working together and straight. Have a great day