Abstract
Purpose :
The aim of this study was to evaluate whether viewing an immersive 3D movie results in improved stereoscopic depth perception, ocular deviation, and visual acuity in children aged 5 to 12 years with anisometropic and/or strabismic amblyopia previously treated with occlusion, compared with neurotypical children without amblyopia.
Methods :
In this prospective pre-post intervention clinical trial Participants (N=24) were invited to view the 3D movie Sing 2. Nine had strabismic amblyopia, five anisometropic amblyopia, and ten were neurotypical. Three outcomes were evaluated during Pre- and post-viewing 3D movie projection and three months later. Stereopsis (ST) was measured with TNO test, monocular visual acuity (VA) using Snellen ETDRS E Optotype located at 3m, and ocular deviation was evaluated with Cover Test.
Results :
Mean age and standard deviation (±) of participants was 8.14±2.14 years old. After three months of viewing the 3D movie, the mean ST improved by 0.164 log arc sec in the amblyopic group, P=0.016, and by 0.125 log arc sec in the neurotypical group, P=0.047. In the amblyopic group, the non-dominant eye VA improved 0.14 log MAR just after watching the movie, and was maintained after 3 months, P<0.001. No statistical and/or clinical changes were observed for visual acuity in the dominant eye, P=0.074. In contrast, no significant improvement in ocular deviation was observed in both groups.
Conclusions :
The results of this study suggest that exposure to large disparities by viewing a 3D movie can help to improve stereopsis and visual acuity in children aged 5−12 years with previously treated anisometropic and/or strabismus amblyopia, and this improvement is sustained after three months. Moreover, improvements in stereopsis were also observed in children without amblyopia suggesting that 3D movie viewing may also be useful for strengthening stereopsis in neurotypical children.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.