Vision Rehabilitation Training With Multimodal Feedback in Central Vision Loss

Part of paid clinical trials in Boston, Massachusetts.

Sponsor
New England College of Optometry
Study ID
NCT07577219
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
14 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • eccentric viewing training with biofeedback — BEHAVIORAL
    Participants will complete 5 weekly training sessions (approximately 60 minutes each) performing eye movement exercises while receiving real-time multimodal feedback. Training includes: Saccadic Training: Visually-guided saccades to targets appearing at randomized locations with instructions to use peripheral (inferior) retinal locus. Targets shift horizontally, vertically, and obliquely to train all saccadic directions. Smooth Pursuit Training: Circular pursuit of moving targets at 2.6°/s in randomized directions with instructions to maintain peripheral gaze above the target. Feedback Modalities (systematically varied across sessions):Scotoma Awareness: Gaze-contingent black circle overlay representing participant's blind spot; Preferred Retinal Locus (PRL) Feedback: Dynamic gaze-contingent ring showing real-time fixation location; Auditory Feedback: Tone modulation indicating fixation stability, PRL accuracy, and target acquisition success; Combined multimodal feedback

Study Details

Central vision loss from macular degeneration creates blind spots that impair reading, face recognition, and navigation. Individuals must learn to use peripheral vision, requiring retraining of eye movements. Our preliminary research using high-speed eye tracking demonstrated that people with larger scotomas have impaired eye movement control, and that single-session visual feedback training showed limited immediate benefit, though combining feedback types showed promise. This study will evaluate whether extended binocular training (5 weekly sessions) with multimodal feedback improves eye movement control in 8-15 participants with bilateral central vision loss. Unlike conventional monocular rehabilitation systems, our approach trains both eyes simultaneously using real-time visual and auditory feedback during saccadic and smooth pursuit tasks. Participants will receive gaze-contingent scotoma awareness feedback, preferred retinal locus feedback, and auditory cues while performing eye tracking exercises. Primary outcomes include saccadic accuracy (latency, landing error, amplitude) and smooth pursuit parameters (gain, tracking accuracy). Secondary outcomes include contrast sensitivity and self-reported visual function. Success could establish an evidence base for accessible home-based training using virtual reality technology, potentially benefiting millions with macular degeneration.

Key Dates

Start date
Jan 31, 2026
Status verified
May 2026
Primary completion
Dec 1, 2026
Completion
Dec 1, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment
12 participants (estimated)
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
OTHER

Arms

  • Experimental: Feedback Training
    All participants will receive binocular oculomotor training with multimodal feedback. Participants will complete 5 weekly training sessions (approximately 60 minutes each) performing saccadic and smooth pursuit eye movement exercises. Training incorporates three types of feedback presented systematically across sessions: (1) scotoma awareness feedback via gaze-contingent black circle overlay representing the blind spot, (2) preferred retinal locus (PRL) feedback via dynamic gaze-contingent ring showing real-time fixation location, and (3) auditory feedback with tone modulation indicating fixation stability, PRL accuracy, and target acquisition. Eye movements are recorded using binocular eye tracking at 2000Hz. Contrast sensitivity is assessed intermittently during training using adaptive Gabor presentations. Outcomes are measured at baseline (Week 0) and post-training (Week 6).

Primary Outcome Measure

Change in Saccadic Accuracy (Landing Error) [ Time Frame: At First study visit - Baseline, At each training visit (week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4, week 5, and post training (week 11 ) ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
New England College of OptometryBostonMassachusetts02115
Nicole C Ross, OD, MSc.
[email protected]
617-587-5626
Cecilia Idman-Rait, MPH
[email protected]

Find similar trials in Boston, MA

By condition
Age-related macular degeneration
By specialty
OphthalmologyRetina
By research site
New England College of Optometry· Boston, MA

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