I'm always fascinated by scientists adapting video games for special purposes. This is ten-year-old Calum Stillie wearing goggles that allow him to play a Tetris-style game developed by eye specialists at Glasgow Caledonian University. Calum has a lazy eye (Amblyopia). The usual treatment is for the child to wear an eye patch - black for boys, pink for girls! - for weeks or even months. This new treatment involves playing a video game that has two images of Tetris, one of which is slightly fuzzy. Gradually the lazy eye is stimulated into bringing its image into focus. The child plays the game for one hour per day for 10 days. Calum showed improvement in only a week. Click the title link to read more and to watch a video (bottom right corner for full screen).
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Lazy Eye Tetris
I'm always fascinated by scientists adapting video games for special purposes. This is ten-year-old Calum Stillie wearing goggles that allow him to play a Tetris-style game developed by eye specialists at Glasgow Caledonian University. Calum has a lazy eye (Amblyopia). The usual treatment is for the child to wear an eye patch - black for boys, pink for girls! - for weeks or even months. This new treatment involves playing a video game that has two images of Tetris, one of which is slightly fuzzy. Gradually the lazy eye is stimulated into bringing its image into focus. The child plays the game for one hour per day for 10 days. Calum showed improvement in only a week. Click the title link to read more and to watch a video (bottom right corner for full screen).
