VR Goggles for Remote Visual and Mental Health Testing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current visual and mental health testing methods are limited by the need for patients to travel to medical facilities, inability to accommodate individuals with mobility issues, and the requirement for specialized equipment, which restricts access to effective ocular and mental health assessments, especially for those in remote or underserved areas.

Innovation Solution

The use of virtual reality goggles with integrated computing devices, such as smartphones, to conduct visual and mental attribute tests, allowing for remote assessment and analysis of patients' visual acuity, visual fields, and neurological status, with features like optical crosstalk prevention and distance determination, enabling home-based testing and communication of results to healthcare providers.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If conventional visual testing devices (phoropter, Snellen chart) are used, then visual acuity can be tested with established methods, but patients must travel to medical facilities and specialized equipment is required

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevisual acuity testing accuracyVSAvoidpatient accessibility

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a virtual copy of the clinical testing environment using VR technology. The Snellen chart and other visual testing tools are replicated in virtual space, allowing patients to undergo the same standardized tests at home without physical travel to the clinic.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The VR headset acts as an intermediary device between the patient and the testing system. It delivers standardized visual stimuli and captures patient responses, mediating the testing process to maintain clinical accuracy while enabling remote operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If specialized testing equipment is brought to patients, then comprehensive visual and mental health assessment is possible, but the equipment is heavy and difficult to transport

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveassessment reliabilityVSAvoidequipment portability

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the essential testing functionality from heavy clinical equipment and consolidates it into a lightweight VR headset. By separating the core visual and mental health assessment capabilities from bulky traditional devices, the system achieves portability without sacrificing assessment reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The VR headset serves multiple functions: it displays visual acuity charts, conducts visual field testing, administers mental health assessments, and tracks patient responses. This multi-functional design replaces multiple separate pieces of equipment with a single portable device.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Ease of operation

If home-based testing is enabled, then patient accessibility improves, but ensuring proper positioning and test accuracy becomes more difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepatient accessibilityVSAvoidtesting accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously monitors patient positioning through cameras and sensors, providing real-time feedback to ensure proper headset placement and eye position. This feedback mechanism allows untrained patients at home to maintain the same positioning accuracy as in-clinic testing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary calibration routines that guide patients through positioning adjustments before the actual testing begins. This preliminary setup ensures that all subsequent measurements are taken from the correct baseline position, maintaining measurement precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Ease of operation

If remote testing is implemented, then patients in remote areas gain access to care, but professional supervision and training become more challenging

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetesting accessibilityVSAvoidprofessional training requirements

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The VR system incorporates built-in guidance, tutorials, and automated protocols that enable patients to independently complete testing without requiring trained professionals present. The system self-calibrates and self-monitors, reducing the training burden on remote operators.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical system of direct professional supervision with an automated digital guidance system. Virtual instructions, automated response tracking, and algorithmic analysis substitute for the need for trained staff to physically oversee each test administration.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS11311188B2Visual and mental testing using virtual reality hardware

Publication Date: 2022.04.26 MICROMEDICAL DEVICES INC

AI summary

An apparatus including a set of virtual reality goggles affixable to a patient is provided. The set of virtual reality goggles includes two central lenses employed to be positioned over the patient's eyes, securing means configured to secure a computing device to the set of virtual reality goggles, and means for determining a distance between the patient's eyes and the computing device. The set of virtual reality goggles is employable to test visual and/or mental attributes of the patient.