Central Visual Impairment
Conditions
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to evaluate reading performance in the visual periphery by simulating central vision loss using a computer-controlled gaze-contingent display with an eye tracker. Participants will read a page of text at a comfortable rate. Several manipulations hypothesized to improve reading will be tested, such as an inverted-text spotlight of a single word that follows the participant's gaze.
Detailed description
Participants will view paragraphs of multiple sentences of text with their central vision blocked computationally with a simulated scotoma. Participants will be free to move their eyes around the page of text at a comfortable rate. The three outcomes described elsewhere will be evaluated. In different blocks, text will contain one or more of several dynamic assistive manipulations that are hypothesized to enhance reading: 1) inverting the text at a given position, with instructions for the participant to attend to that location, which simulates a surrogate fovea of a patient with central vision loss. 2) horizontally expanding text to alleviate within-word crowding. 3) highlighting the next word with a visible indicator to encourage proper eye movements.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALGaze-contingent text enhancement
In different testing blocks, the efficacy of the different enhancements will be evaluated, such as inverting the text in a gaze-contingent inverted spotlight.
Sponsors
University of Houston
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Normal vision * English language
Exclusion criteria
* Less than 20/20 vision in either eye * Abnormalities which affect vision (amblyopia, keratoconus, etc.) * Ortho-K lenses
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Reading speed | From enrollment to completion of testing (<2 weeks) | Average time/word it takes to read a paragraph of text. |
| Reading accuracy | From enrollment to completion of testing (<2 weeks) | Ability to correctly answer comprehension questions or orally read words |
| Efficiency of eye movement | From enrollment to completion of testing (<2 weeks) | Ability to move the eyes systematically from word to word |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed