Light control devices and methods for regional variation of visual information and sampling

Abstract

Exemplary light control devices and methods provide a regional variation of visual information and sampling (“V-VIS”) of an ocular field of view that improves or stabilizes vision, ameliorates a visual symptom, reduces the rate of vision loss, or reduces the progression of an ophthalmic or neurologic condition, disease, injury or disorder. The V-VIS devices and methods may optically move, at a sampling rate between 50 hertz and 50 kilohertz, one or more apertures anterior to a retina between one or more positions anterior to the retina that are non-coaxial with a center of a pupil and a position anterior to the retina that is coaxial with the center of the pupil. Certain of these V-VIS devices and methods may be combined with augmented or virtual reality, vision measurement, vision monitoring, or other therapies including, but not limited to, pharmacological, gene, retinal replacement and stem cell therapies.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 608,039, entitled “LIGHT CONTROL DEVICES AND METHODS FOR NOVEL REGIONAL VARIATION OF VISUAL INFORMATION AND SAMPLING”, filed Dec. 20, 2017, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]The disclosed embodiments relate to light control devices and methods for regional variation of visual information and sampling.BACKGROUND[0003]The retina is the part of the eye that responds to light from an ocular field of view and converts the light to signals to begin image processing. Visual processing continues in the brain where the retinal visual information is integrated spatially, temporally and with ocular movements to achieve visual perception of the ocular field of view. An optical axis is a straight line perpendicular to the front of the eye and extending through a center of the pupil, defined herein as coaxi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes using special devices to collect and analyze visual information from the eye in order to improve vision, treat ophthalmic or neurological conditions, and monitor visual symptoms. The technology aims to improve the overall quality and stability of vision, reduce the risk of vision loss, and provide valuable information about the eye's health.

Problems solved by technology

In eyes with retinal macular lesions, a stationary small aperture often does not improve visual acuity and often causes a reduction in visual acuity by restricting light to dysfunctional areas of the retina.

Stationary small apertures in only one eye of a subject induce anisocoria and produce detrimental interocular differences in visual latency causing hazardous distortions of relative movement.

Conventional treatment for amblyopia, unlike some embodiments of these exemplary V-VIS devices and methods, decreases the number of spatial samples, particularly in the periphery, available for accurate integration of visual information and often results in loss of binocularity and / or inability to improve binocularity during treatment, as well as impairment of the ability to integrate peripheral visual field information in the visual cortex.

Conventional visual training for amblyopia using conventional electronic devices with virtual reality (VR) displays cannot be used during normal activities, are used only for short training sessions and do not improve vision while the visually impaired subject is viewing objects in a natural scene or during normal visual tasks.

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