Southampton researchers have developed phone apps using new AI-based technology to help improve vital treatment for children with amblyopia, and to test their vision in a new way.
Supporting treatment of amblyopia or ‘lazy eye’
University of Southampton eye specialists, mathematicians and games designers have teamed up to create a suite of smartphone games to help improve treatment for children with amblyopia, known as ‘lazy eye’. This causes sight loss in young children and occurs when one eye doesn’t develop a strong enough link to the brain.
Amblyopi aaffects about 1 in 50 children, and can usually be treated by covering the unaffected eye with a patch for a few hours a day for several months. This forces the ‘lazy’ eye to work.
This treatment, known as occlusion therapy, is only successful in around half of children. Experts say busy households ‘giving up’ due to the time and effort involved is a leading cause of failure. Amblyopia is far more common, and treatment is also much more likely to fail, in children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
Dr Jay Self, an eye specialist at the University of Southampton says, "Consistency in wearing an eye patch is essential for treating amblyopia. The technique works, but there’s a short window of time for treatment, as it has very limited success after the age of 8. It requires a huge time investment and perseverance and is not much fun at all. Sadly, it’s easy to give up.”
The multidisciplinary research team launched a spin-out company, Nucleolus Software to develop the games. Nucleolus has received funding from the University’s Web Science Institute, Innovate UK, and the Gift of Sight charity.
Novel approaches, accessible to all
“There's a lot of research showing that children from the lowest socioeconomic groups have access to smartphones, so using the technology people have in their hands every day makes the games accessible for everyone,” says Jay.
The phone app consists of several different computer games designed by graduates of the University’s Winchester School of Art working at Nucleolus Software.
Mathematician Professor Joerg Fliege said: “By harnessing novel approaches from computational mathematics and artificial intelligence, we have enabled the app to sense if the eye patch is being worn properly. If it isn’t, the game prompts them to correct this by sending them encouraging messages. If they wear their patch properly, the game responds by unlocking different levels or giving rewards.”
“We think motivating children in this way will help them to form a more positive association with their patch and ultimately, increase the effectiveness of their treatment,” he adds. The team has just launched a companion app for parents, which provides information and guidance on amblyopia in an accessible way, to help them support their child’s treatment.
A first version of the Amblios Club suite of games for children and the Amblio app for parents are available to download on the app store.
Vision testing by gaming
As a spin-off from the games platform created by Nucleolus Software, the team is using the same technology to develop a new way of testing children’s vision through gaming.
They have designed 3 new games to test vision in children with conditions such as nystagmus, where the eyes move rapidly by themselves. Nystagmus affects around 1 in 1,000 people in the UK, and there is currently no cure.
“The idea is that the games test a more realistic level of vision under time pressure, as the eyes are asked to move quickly around the screen,” says Jay.
You can provide online feedback on these games as part of a research study.
Once we have refined the games based on the feedback, we are aiming to use the games in clinical trials, so that as a research community we finally understand which potential treatments actually work
Dr Jay Self
Related news links
New app helps children with ‘lazy eye’ visual impairment, Southampton news
Public invited to try burger shop themed games for testing children’s vision, Health Research, University Hospital Southampton
