Researchers tested four headmounted displays—AceSight, eSight 3, IrisVision Live, and Jordy—for at-home visual rehabilitation of patients with Stargardt disease. Diana Chabané Schmidt and colleagues conducted the prospective, explorative study between September 2019 and August 2020. They enrolled 12 participants, aged 16-53 years, who had moderate-to-severe visual impairment and a relatively preserved peripheral visual field. Patients received training at the clinic and selected two devices to use at home for two weeks each. All four devices were associated with improvements in distance visual acuity and reading distance. The use of eSight and IrisVision improved near-visual acuity and reading ability. Visual function at a distance improved with IrisVision, AceSight, and eSight, but only AceSight improved near-visual acuity. None of the four devices improved vision during computer-related tasks. Although all four devices resulted in vision improvements, barriers such as social stigma and aesthetics limited utilization, Schmidt and team noted. Five participants used the devices sparingly in their homes, five avoided public use, and six opted not to test the head-mounted displays due to lack of time or energy, dizziness and discomfort, double vision and peripheral visual field limitation, or aesthetics.
