Canadian doctors say they have found an inventive way to treat lazy eye — playing the Tetris video game.
An estimated one in 50 children has lazy eye, known medically as amblyopia.
Normally, the treatment is to cover the good eye with a patch to make the weak one work harder.
Robert Hess of McGill University set out to investigate whether a different approach might work.
Armed with a special pair of video goggles they set up an experiment that would make both eyes work as a team.
Nine volunteers with amblyopia were asked to wear the goggles for an hour a day over the two weeks while playing Tetris, the falling building block video game.
The goggles allowed one eye to see only the falling objects, while the other eye could see only the blocks that accumulate on the ground in the game.
Another group of nine volunteers with amblyopia wore similar goggles but had their good eye covered, and watched the whole game through only their lazy eye.
At the end of the two weeks, the group who used both eyes had more improvement in their vision than the patched group.
The researchers then let the patched group have a go at using the goggles with both eyes uncovered. Their vision then improved significantly.
(Liberty Times)
加拿大醫師說,他們發現一項治療懶惰眼的創新方法:玩俄羅斯方塊電玩遊戲。
估計每五十名兒童中就有一人有懶惰眼,醫學上名為弱視。
通常治療方式是用眼罩遮住視力良好的那隻眼,以加強使用視力弱的那一眼。
麥吉爾大學的羅勃.海斯博士要了解採用不同方式是否有效。
他們使用一副特殊眼鏡安排一項可讓兩眼如團隊般分工合作的實驗。
九名患有弱視的自願者被要求在二週期間內,每天戴著這種眼鏡玩俄羅斯方塊一小時。
這種眼鏡能讓使用者的一眼只看遊戲畫面中正在掉落的方塊,另一眼看著底下累積的方塊。
另一組九名弱視患者也戴著類似眼鏡,但遮住視力良好的眼睛,遊戲時只靠弱視的那眼看。
二週結束時,兩眼並用那組人的視力,比遮眼那組進步得多。
接著研究人員讓遮眼那組試著使用兩眼都沒遮著的眼鏡。之後,他們的視力也顯著改善。
(自由時報/翻譯:管淑平)
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