Evaluation of an Extended Reality (XR) Vision Simulation to Enrich Patient Education and Treatment Compliance

Start year: 2024

Summary: This funding will support the study intended for the UTS Graduate School of Health seed funding. Our project aims to assess the effectiveness of Extended Reality (XR) vision simulation in enhancing current non-interactive video use in patient education. Our research team has developed an XR software toolkit that enables customisation of a wearer's visual displays for each eye to simulate various vision impairments. Our toolkit delivers several immersive visual simulations of different vision-related conditions, such as simulated vision to mimic macular degeneration, double-vision, binocular vision, and low-vision. This study will promote treatment compliance by leveraging the customisability of a virtual environment. The patient vision status can be displayed on screen or superimposed on the natural scene in a 3-dimensional presentation with AI-assisted technology for time-efficient consultation.This will allow family or carers to understand the patient condition and the potential impact in daily activities. The firsthand experience of performing tasks with a vision impairment or disturbance can emphasise the importance of eye care and treatment interventions. The proposed funding will support experiment and equipment travel costs for our hired staff to expand the radius of clinicians and patient recruitment for the upcoming study. If successful, we hope to promote better patient and carer understanding of their condition, daily activity requirements and improve overall adherence to treatment plans. This research contributes to advancing innovative approaches in patient education and enhancing overall healthcare outcomes.