VISION COMPENSATORY TRAINING
Vision Compensatory Training (VCT)
Facilitates rehabilitation for patients suffering from homonymous hemianopia, e.g. after a stroke, by training the brain to look in the direction of vision loss.
Homonymous hemianopia is a severe visual deficit that effectively hides whatever lies to the left or right of the line of sight, depending on the laterality of damage. For best effect, VCT should be run on an iPad. However, an iPhone may also be used. In either case, the device can be held at any angle, allowing the VCT to be adjusted to the user's preference. Note that VCT can never cure homonymous hemianopia but can help the patient adjust to their vision loss.
Hemianopia can be caused by a stroke, but there are also other conditions that can cause this type of vision loss. In daily life, homonymous hemianopia can be a serious handicap. For example, when sitting in front of a computer screen, a patient with a left homonymous hemianopia usually only sees the right-hand portion of the screen: the left-hand portion is not seen, and the patient may not even notice. This vision loss can partially be compensated by learning to actively look in the direction of the blind side. Unfortunately, the required eye movements, so-called "blind saccades", do not come naturally and must be learned. This is where VCT can help.
As part of the rehabilitation process, VCT helps the patient to train the brain to look in the direction of the vision loss. VCT can be used immediately after a stroke, as soon as the patient has been diagnosed with homonymous hemianopia. As the VCT can be run on an iPad or iPhone, even when held at an angle, it is ideal for use even when the patient is bedridden. VCT is also ideal for continued rehabilitation even after leaving the hospital.
By training the brain to look in the direction of vision loss, this app facilitates rehabilitation when suffering from homonymous hemianopia, e.g. after a stroke.
A patient suffering from homonymous hemianopia will experience these two main issues:
1
Loss of overview of the surroundings
Everything that falls within the range of vision impairment cannot be seen and this can lead to difficulties when passing through doorways or bumping into things and people.
The VCT Maze function, is a maze game that trains the brain to actively look in the direction of the vision loss (left or right). When the brain has learned to direct the vision towards the blind side, daily life will become easier.
2
Trouble in reading running text
A patient with right-sided homonymous hemianopia has difficulty finding the next word. A patient with left-sided homonymous hemianopia has difficulty finding where the next line of text starts.
The VCT StreamLights function is a simple reading aid that will, continuously, but discretely, help the patient find the next word or line.
Manual
Vision Compensatory Training has been developed by
Professor Lars Frisén, MD, PhD, at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Disclaimer
This app cannot provide a diagnosis and is not intended to replace the advice of trained experts. Visumetrics disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. For an accurate diagnosis, you should undergo a dedicated medical examination.
Are you
or someone
you know
suffering from
homonymous hemianopia?
Vision Compensatory Training (VCT)
By training the brain to look in the direction of vision loss, this app facilitates rehabilitation when suffering from homonymous hemianopia, e.g. after a stroke.
