Design and evaluation of a therapeutic app to help children improve their vision.

There are no validated treatments to improve eye movement control in children, so we have designed and are evaluating one which is effective can be used in the NHS.

CACH Team: Cathy Williams, Rosie Clark, KP (Research IT), IDG (Psychology)

Children with special educational needs (SEN) often have poorly controlled eye movements. There are no validated treatments available so  parents often seek out online or commercially available, often expensive treatments, without knowing if it will help their child.

We have worked with a local artist to design an app which  encourages the player to make accurate eye movements in order to carry out activities using a game-like format.

We have carried out a small pilot study involving 12 children in 2 schools, using objective eye tracking to measure changes in the children’s vision before and after using the app. Improvements in vision were seen in the children who used the app most consistently.

A larger randomised study is now planned.