Rationale and Feasibility of Automated Image Shifting as a Compensation for Visual Loss.

摘要

Loss of central visual field, or foveal scotoma, due to accidental exposure to laser light or macular disease can cause serious impairments in visually guided performance. Either long lasting afterimages from visible radiation or permanent degenerative injury to retinal cells may interfere with high resolution image acquisition for target recognition and normal control of eye fixations and saccades. Development of an electronic aid is described using a scotoma simulator method to safety duplicate and experimentally control foveal scotoma size, shape, and position in normal subjects. The electronic aid is switched into the system by video mixing through a software controlled raster display. Images normally falling within the scotoma boundary are shifted in real time to the highest resolution spared retina. The aid unblocks visual images inside a scotoma and also reduces abnormal eye movements which accompany adaptation to visual loss.