Rezumat. Realitatea virtuală imersivă este înțeleasă drept transpoziția mediului virtual generat de o unitate de procesare grafică într-o
manieră stereoscopică prin specializarea echipamentului precum căștile virtuale. Accesibilitatea acestor echipamente este
determinată de investiții masive a marilor corporații, ceea ce a facilitat implimentarea lor în medicină. Aceste tehnologii pot
oferi noi servicii în oftalmologie precum monitorizarea rezultatelor pacienților la perimetria computerizată, tratamentul
ambliopiei etc.
Immersive virtual reality (VRi) is currently understood
as the transposition of a virtual environment
generated by a graphics processing unit into a stereoscopic
manner through specialized equipment
such as virtual headsets. The recent accessibility of iVR
equipment, determined by the massive investments
of large corporations have indirectly facilitated the
implementation of the potential of virtual reality in
medicine. Along with the overcoming of the graphical
processing deficit, concepts were turned to real types
of equipment that nowadays possess the capacity to
offer synesthetic visual, auditory and haptic stimuli
at a level that impair human capacity to differentiate
reality from the virtual. The concept of gamification
therapy enhances therapeutical potential within a
playful interface, and was already proven to be capable
of facilitating the dynamics of rehabilitation in neurological,
psychiatric or motor disorders, by amplifying the
patient’s motivation. As iVR opens new perspectives
in ophthalmology, such as monitoring patient-related
outcome measures through standard automated perimetry,
current literature reflects a growing interest
in also improving therapeutical outcomes.
This paper aims to assess the current state of the
art regarding the applicability of iVR in the treatment
of amblyopia, as well as the influence on the anxiety valences associated with the recovery process of
stereoscopic vision, focusing in the manner recovery
benefits from virtual reality by providing a dynamic
frame, which avoids fixed head positions, indirectly
reducing the stress associated with the current gold
standard. According to the literature, the recovery of
anisometropic amblyopia with the help of iVR has led
to significant improvements since the first treatment
session, with an upward trend in the deficit recovery
curve positively correlated with the repetitiveness of
exercises and maintenance of long-term benefits of
exposure sessions. Last but not least, iVR technology
may become a tool used to diagnose and quantify
the level of visual impairment in amblyopia.
iVR represents a disruptive technology whose
impact in ophthalmology benefits the transition of
contemporary medicine to the future of individualized
techniques, designed to improve therapeutic
efficacy depending on the individual characteristics
of the patient. In conclusion, although iVR stands as a
promising therapeutic ophthalmological tool, there
is a growing need for implementation as the lack of
a standardized means of research designs calls for
the expertise of medical experts worldwide.
