22 April 2025
Researchers at the University of Southampton are encouraging members of the public to test video games that have been developed to assess the effectiveness of nystagmus treatments.
Eye specialists, computer game experts and mathematicians have collaborated to create three prototype games that test how quickly and clearly a person with nystagmus can see.
Challenges included within the NystagME games include a fast-food restaurant game where participants make a burger in a kitchen by visually checking customer orders and scanning for ingredients from different areas of the computer screen under timed conditions.
The researchers are calling for participants both with nystagmus and without to spend five minutes testing the games. This can be done online. Participants will need access to a desktop computer and a mouse.
Dr Jay Self, associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Southampton, highlighted that the games could be helpful in measuring the success of supportive treatments for nystagmus.
“At the moment we can only tell how effective treatment has been by using standard eye test methods, such as static letter charts and field of vision tests, which don’t simulate real life situations at all,” he said.
By testing the games in people of a range of ages, with varying levels of vision, the researchers hope to determine which game works best as an outcome measure for treatment studies. The games have been developed by the University of Southampton spin-out company, Nucleolus Software.
University of Southampton mathematician, Professor Joerg Fliege, highlighted that the games may be helpful for children with nystagmus who struggle to engage with traditional tests.
“By combining the skills of designers, data specialists and clinicians, we think we are on the way to creating a new, engaging, fun way to assess people’s response to nystagmus treatment,” he said.
Comments (0)
You must be logged in to join the discussion. Log in