VR_LV

Principal Investigator: 

Dr Ruth Hogg

Name of the Study:  

VR_LV: Visual performance measures in a virtual reality environment for assessing clinical trial outcomes in those with severely reduced vision.  

Why is this Study important?: 

A patient’s ability to perform daily tasks that require vision is often a useful indicator of whether a new treatment has worked or not. However it is a difficult thing to measure accurately. It is mostly achieved using questionnaires, asking patients about how easy or difficult they find particular tasks, which is not always accurate. New virtual reality headsets provide the possibility of measuring a patient’s ability to perform such tasks more directly. We propose to develop such performance-based measures of visual function in VR and to trial them on patients with low vision (e.g. Stargardt’s disease, retinitis pigmentosa and Albinism) who have severe sight impairment. 

What is the Research question/aim?: 

Purpose and design: Validate and evaluate a new eye test using a virtual reality headset in a clinical sample in Belfast.  

What the Study involves: 

Two visits per participant:

Visit 1:  Virtual reality headset and computer.  Use of Optos and Heidelberg OCT

Visit 2: Virtual reality headset and computer within one month of Visit 1.

PPI Involvement: 

No PPI involvement

Who can take part in the study?

Patients with low vision (e.g. Stargardt’s disease, retinitis pigmentosa and Albinism) who have severe sight impairment.

Contact Information:

Dr Ruth Hogg

Senior Lecturer

Centre for Public Health

ICS-A

Grosvenor Road

Belfast

BT12 6BA

Email: r.e.hogg@qub.ac.uk

Tel: 028 90971654