The University
of Utah is this year’s winner in the ‘Best Student Developed Serious Game’
category of the Serious Games Showcase & Challenge with Healthx, a game to
help treat and diagnose lazy eye in children. Working with researchers at the
John A. Moran Eye Center, a team from the U created Healthx to help diagnose
and treat lazy eye, which can lead to permanent visual impairment if left
untreated. Fully controlled by eye movement, the Serious Game forces the lazy
eye to move around the screen, which can strengthen and help find the right
balance between the eyes. The game’s proposition is to train the weak muscles
responsible for amblyopia or ‘lazy eye’, by using hardware that tracks player’s
eye movement and adding a gameplay element to traditional eye exercises.
In talking with
their network of eye care professionals, developers learned that current
techniques of eye strengthening are boring and compliance, especially among
children, is very low. Lazy eye is one of the most common eye disorders found
in children. Despite its prevalence, clinical treatments and current diagnostic
tools are not designed with the child’s nature in mind. Solution provides an
engaging experience, continuous feedback and a cost effective, automated tool
for treating and diagnosing lazy eye. Healthx is a collection of eye controlled
games including a top down shooter that requires fast target acquisition and a
slower paced balloon popping game. Both games require the player to constantly
move their eyes across the screen at varied time intervals.
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