Passive optical device for nystagmus correction and ophthalmic resolution enhancement

• Published in: Applied optics. Optical technology and biomedical optics Vol. 59; no. 2; p. 484
• Main Authors: Nezri, Dana Gotthilf, Zlotnik, Alex, Zalevsky, Zeev
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 10.01.2020
• Subjects: Adult; Computer Simulation; Humans; Numerical Analysis, Computer-Assisted; Nystagmus, Pathologic - diagnosis; Optical Devices
• DOI: 10.1364/AO.59.000484

In this research, we present a novel device that solves the reduced visual acuity caused by involuntary movements of the retina in nystagmus. The proposed solution comprises a contact lens that moves together with the eyeball and an ophthalmic lens (spectacles). Our work has three parts: numerical simulation of the proposed solution, an experimental optical bench procedure, and a clinical experiment, with nonnystagmus subjects, in which we mimicked the uncontrolled eye movements in nystagmus. In the numerical and experimental bench sections of this study, we show that the proposed optics produces a clear and stable image on a screen. In the clinical study, subjects with the device felt only small movements of the image when they moved their eyes across the field of view. They described a magnification resulting in narrowing the field of view, and therefore had to move their heads to see the space of the room. This follows the theoretical expectation for the proposed concept. Thus, the proposed device may help nystagmus subjects fixate the image on the center of the retina and thus enable improved visual acuity. The device may be used in young children suffering from nystagmus to prevent amblyopia.