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The Future of Virtual Reality and Deep Learning in Visual Field Testing

The Future of Virtual Reality and Deep Learning in Visual Field Testing

Scott E. Lee (University of California, Berkeley, USA), Deborah Chen (University of California, Berkeley, USA), Nikita Chigullapally (University of California, Berkeley, USA), Suzy Chung (University of California, Santa Cruz, USA), Allan Lu Lee (University of California, Berkeley, USA), Angelbert Ramos (University of California, Berkeley, USA), Varun Shravah (University of California, Los Angeles, USA), Trinity Rico (University of California, Berkeley, USA), Michael Youn (University of California, Berkeley, USA), and Diane Nguyen (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
Copyright: © 2022 |Pages: 16
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-8371-5.ch014
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Abstract

The visual field (VF) examination is a useful clinical tool for monitoring a variety of ocular diseases. Despite its wide utility in eye clinics, the test as currently conducted is subject to an array of issues that interfere in obtaining accurate results. Visual field exams of patients suffering from additional ocular conditions are often unreliable due to interference between the comorbid diseases. To improve upon these shortcomings, virtual reality (VR) and deep learning are being explored as potential solutions. Virtual reality has been incorporated into novel visual field exams to provide a portable, 3D exam experience. Deep learning, a specialization of machine learning, has been used in conjunction with VR, such as in the iGlaucoma application, to limit subjective bias occurring from patients' eye movements. This chapter seeks to analyze and critique how VR and deep learning can augment the visual field experience by improving accuracy, reducing subjective bias, and ultimately, providing clinicians with a greater capacity to enhance patient outcomes.
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Background

To understand what the visual field is, a comprehensive understanding of vision is necessary. Vision is the ability to process external information taken in via the eyes and transferred to the brain through the optic nerve. When light enters the eye, it travels through the pupil and is refracted by the lens. Eventually the light is projected onto the retina, the functional layer of the eye rich in light-sensitive photoreceptor cells that enable visual perception. The two main photoreceptors are called rods and cones, which are responsible for low light vision and color vision, respectively. When photoreceptors are stimulated by variations in lighting in the ambient environment, the signals are transduced down the optic nerve to communicate this information with the brain. The optic nerve meets with the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in the thalamus to pass on the information to the occipital lobe. The occipital lobe is the associated area of the brain that converts and interprets these signals into robust visual information, allowing us to navigate the world around us (Smith & Czyz, 2020).

The visual field involves the whole area that can be seen by both eyes. Much like the right and left sides of the brain, there are two visual fields: a right visual field and a left visual field. Vision is perceived contralaterally, meaning that the perception of the right visual field is taken in by the opposite side, namely the left side of photoreceptors within the back of the eye and vice versa for the left visual field as shown in Figure 1 (Nieto, M., n.d). While the two fields may seem separate from each other, they superimposed upon one another in the central field to allow depth perception and overall improved visual acuity. When the information from each field comes into the brain through the optic nerve, the fields are interpreted at an area of the brain called the optic chiasm, in which the information coming from the right visual field is transferred to the left occipital lobe and the information from the left visual field goes to the right occipital lobe. In the end, this complex sensory process allows us to see with an in-depth visual field and to interact with the world around us. This comprehensive understanding of vision allows us to create tests to measure how an average individual can see on a day-to-day basis.

Figure 1.

A diagram of the human visual pathway and how it is perceived contralaterally

978-1-7998-8371-5.ch014.f01
(Nieto, M., n.d).

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