The Use of Real-Time Image Stabilization and Augmented Reality Eyewear in the Treatment of Oscillopsia

Abstract

Objectives/Hypothesis. The symptom of oscillopsia in patients with bilateral vestibular loss (BVL) can be reduced as dynamic visual acuity (DVA), the reduction in visual acuity during head movement, is improved by using real-time image stabilization, delivered by augmented reality eyewear. Setting. Tertiary multidisciplinary neurotology clinic. Study Design. Prospective experimental study. Methods. Immersive virtual reality glasses used in combination with a compact digital video camera were used. A software algorithm was developed that used a center-weighted Lucas-Kanade optical flow method to stabilize video in real time. Six patients with BVL were tested for changes in DVA using the eyewear. The ability to read a Snellen chart during a 2-Hz oscillating head rotation DVA test was measured. Results. For combined scores of vertical and horizontal head rotations, the mean number of lines readable at rest was 7.86, which dropped to 2.77 with head movement (a combination of vertical and horizontal perturbations). This increased to a mean of 6.14 lines with the image stabilization software being activated. This difference was statistically significant ( P < .001). Conclusion. This is the first successful attempt to improve dynamic visual acuity in patients with bilateral vestibular loss. Recent hardware upgrades are promising in improving these results even further.