Duke’s new Visual Performance Lab is using virtual reality and other high-tech gear to predict risk for functional impairments and develop assistive technologies.
y l l a u t Vir Pred ictab le A woman with glaucoma is walking down the street when she suddenly loses her balance, trips, and falls. Well, she doesn’t actually fall, since the harness she’s wearing keeps her upright and safe. She removes her virtual reality goggles and steps down from the multi-sensor platform, while lab
technicians check the abundant data collected along her “virtual walk through town.” Nearby, a gentleman with macular degeneration is driving through city traffic on a simulator, while data is compiled to assess whether it is still safe for him to drive at this stage of his disease. And across the room, a young boy is engrossed in a video game, unaware that the virtual reality goggles he’s wearing are measuring his brain’s responses to imperceptible peripheral stimuli and assessing his field of view.
Dr. Medeiros works with patient during a virtual reality driving assessment.
