Gamification in Amblyopia Treatment - Clinical Study in India

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K22889
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 62:Applied informatics and related fields
• Research Institution: The University of Electro-Communications
• Principal Investigator: Ishigaki Yo 電気通信大学, 大学院情報理工学研究科, 特任准教授 (50723350)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-06-28 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 医療機器 / モノづくり / 途上国 / 感受性期間 / 斜視弱視

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In order to challenge the world's first demonstration of effective stimulation of the visual cortex and short-term treatment of amblyopia by playing games, we have realized a special smartphone and LCD projector that allows the amblyopic eye to see images while the healthy eye remains white-out. As the core technology of the smartphone, we succeeded in developing sunglasses that utilize the circular and elliptical polarizing filter characteristics of the touch panel. As the core technology of the projector, we have succeeded in creating a non-polarizing dichroic prism in which each color is independent of the wavelength characteristics of p-polarization and s-polarization.
A prototype of a special LCD with amblyopia training games installed was provided to Indian collaborators, and clinical trials were conducted mainly with pediatric amblyopia patients.

Free Research Field

情報工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

ゲームで遊ぶことにより視覚野を効果的に刺激し短期間で弱視(amblyopia)を治療する世界初の実証に挑戦した。本研究で開発された特殊LCD技術により、新しいゲーム型治療装置の基礎技術が開拓され、視能学やスポーツビジョン、リハビリへ新しい応用展開が期待できる。臨床試験からは一定の効果が確かめられ、その結果は現在、学術論文として投稿中である。また、インドなど弱視患者の多い途上国での効果的な治療法の確立が期待される。