The effects of using virtual reality devices on the eye

Effects of prolonged use of virtual reality devices on visual parameters

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN48251379

Enrollment

Registered

2021-02-20

Start date

2017-12-10

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2021-03-15

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Effects of virtual reality devices on visual parameters Eye Diseases

Interventions

For the VR experiment, the participants freely play a VR game (Lands End, Ustwo Games, UK) for 2 hours that is graded as “comfortable” on a platform provided by Oculus. Visual parameters including ref

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Volunteers aged 20-39 years 2. 20/20 or better best-corrected visual acuity

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Volunteers who have an ophthalmologic disorder, including amblyopia, presbyopia, or corneal or retinal disease and history of ocular surgery

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Visual parameters measured before and after the use of VR devices or smartphones for 2 hours: 1. Refraction and accommodation measured using a binocular open-field refractor (Auto Ref/Keratometer WAM-5500, Grand Seiko Co. Ltd, Hiroshima, Japan) 2. Monocular near-point accommodation (NPA) obtained using Donder’s push-up method. A 20/30 single letter on a fixation stick positioned approximately 50 cm from the subject served as the target, and it was moved gradually closer to the subject at a rate of approximately 5.0 cm/s until the subject noticed the blurring of the target. 3. The near-point of convergence (NPC): the fixation target, the starting point of the examination, and moving velocity of the fixation target were the same as those previously described for the NPA measurement. The first point at which the corneal reflex of the participants began to extend outward was considered the endpoint. 4. Stereopsis measured using a near stereopsis vision test (Stereo Fly SO-001 test; Stereo Optical Co., Chicago, IL, USA). Stereopsis of 2500–1200 s of arc, 800–40 s of arc, and 400–100 s of arc measured using fly photos, graded circle test, and animal test for children, respectively. 5. The presence and magnitude of ocular deviations at far (5 m) and near (33 cm) distances verified using the cover test and alternating cover test with a prism. A standard set of loose plastic prisms was used for all measurements.	—

Measure

Time frame

Visual parameters measured before and after the use of VR devices or smartphones for 2 hours: 1. Refraction and accommodation measured using a binocular open-field refractor (Auto Ref/Keratometer WAM-5500, Grand Seiko Co. Ltd, Hiroshima, Japan) 2. Monocular near-point accommodation (NPA) obtained using Donder’s push-up method. A 20/30 single letter on a fixation stick positioned approximately 50 cm from the subject served as the target, and it was moved gradually closer to the subject at a rate of approximately 5.0 cm/s until the subject noticed the blurring of the target. 3. The near-point of convergence (NPC): the fixation target, the starting point of the examination, and moving velocity of the fixation target were the same as those previously described for the NPA measurement. The first point at which the corneal reflex of the participants began to extend outward was considered the endpoint. 4. Stereopsis measured using a near stereopsis vision test (Stereo Fly SO-001 test; Stereo Optical Co., Chicago, IL, USA). Stereopsis of 2500–1200 s of arc, 800–40 s of arc, and 400–100 s of arc measured using fly photos, graded circle test, and animal test for children, respectively. 5. The presence and magnitude of ocular deviations at far (5 m) and near (33 cm) distances verified using the cover test and alternating cover test with a prism. A standard set of loose plastic prisms was used for all measurements.

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Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Measured before and after the use of VR devices or smartphones for 2 hours: 1. Choroidal thickness measured using the Heidelberg Eye Explorer software (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany) (Version 1.9.10.0) provided by the instrument manufacturer. The researchers manually selected a new line at the choroid–scleral border (CSB). They retained the automatically defined Bruch’s membrane (BM) line, and the software calculated the vertical distance between the two segmentation lines. The choroidal thickness was defined as the vertical distance between the BM and CSB. 2. Subjective symptoms measured using a questionnaire based on a computer vision syndrome questionnaire, including dry eye symptoms (burning, feeling of a foreign body, excessive blinking, tearing, dryness, tingling, and increased sensitivity to light), visual disturbance (blurred vision, double vision, and difficulty focusing for near vision), and neurological symptoms (headache, dizziness, and nausea). The symptom sensation questionnaire included six identical analog scales (0 = none to 6 = too severe to tolerate), and the subject recorded the magnitude of each symptoms compared relative to that at the baseline	—

Measure

Time frame

Measured before and after the use of VR devices or smartphones for 2 hours: 1. Choroidal thickness measured using the Heidelberg Eye Explorer software (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany) (Version 1.9.10.0) provided by the instrument manufacturer. The researchers manually selected a new line at the choroid–scleral border (CSB). They retained the automatically defined Bruch’s membrane (BM) line, and the software calculated the vertical distance between the two segmentation lines. The choroidal thickness was defined as the vertical distance between the BM and CSB. 2. Subjective symptoms measured using a questionnaire based on a computer vision syndrome questionnaire, including dry eye symptoms (burning, feeling of a foreign body, excessive blinking, tearing, dryness, tingling, and increased sensitivity to light), visual disturbance (blurred vision, double vision, and difficulty focusing for near vision), and neurological symptoms (headache, dizziness, and nausea). The symptom sensation questionnaire included six identical analog scales (0 = none to 6 = too severe to tolerate), and the subject recorded the magnitude of each symptoms compared relative to that at the baseline

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Countries

Korea, South

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026