SBIR Phase II: Novel System for Diagnosis of Vision Disorders

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to rapidly screen for binocular vision disorders that impact over 20% of the general population. Unlike simple vision problems that can be corrected for with glasses, binocular vision disorders take longer to treat, and are typically underdiagnosed. Childhood diagnosis of these vision disorders is correlated with attention disorders and poor performance in school, so early detection and treatment is vital to student success.The proposed project advances development of a virtual reality system for diagnosis of vision problems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a virtual reality screening platform for a variety of binocular vision disorders. It will take advantage of eye-tracking technology to precisely measure the eye movements of the wearer in response to specifically designed visual stimuli. Software will rapidly and automatically quantify recorded eye movements and correlate them to real-world values, which optometrists can use to make meaningful diagnostic decisions. The technology described in this proposal will be tested on many users to verify its ability to screen for a wide variety of disorders in a diverse population. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.