TY - GEN
T1 - Visual Search in People with Macular Degeneration
T2 - 21st EuroXR International Conference, EuroXR 2024
AU - Kempapidis, Theofilos
AU - Mavridou, Ifigeneia
AU - Seiss, Ellen
AU - Castle, Claire L.
AU - Bradwell, Daisy
AU - Panchevski, Filip
AU - Cox, Sophia
AU - Gomes, Renata S.M.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - This study is the first to explore the usability of a commercial off the shelf (COTS) VR headset for people with macular degeneration (MD) in the context of visual search. Fourteen participants were recruited; 9 fully sighted and 5 with sight loss due to MD. Firstly, a visual grid search task was presented where participants were asked to identify and discriminate virtual objects and shapes. Secondly, affective audio-visual videos were presented in VR to assess participants processing of affective information. The experimental procedure involved both a physical visual acuity Snellen test and a VR Snellen test conducted within a custom virtual environment. Most participants with macular degeneration (MD) reported increased visibility in VR. They were able to discriminate positive affective content and detect objects and shapes appearing at various locations across their entire field of view. Overall performance was linked to the level of visual impairment and whether it affected one or both eyes. Importantly, all participants successfully used the off-the-shelf VR headset. These findings provide preliminary insights into the usability of VR technologies for users with MD.
AB - This study is the first to explore the usability of a commercial off the shelf (COTS) VR headset for people with macular degeneration (MD) in the context of visual search. Fourteen participants were recruited; 9 fully sighted and 5 with sight loss due to MD. Firstly, a visual grid search task was presented where participants were asked to identify and discriminate virtual objects and shapes. Secondly, affective audio-visual videos were presented in VR to assess participants processing of affective information. The experimental procedure involved both a physical visual acuity Snellen test and a VR Snellen test conducted within a custom virtual environment. Most participants with macular degeneration (MD) reported increased visibility in VR. They were able to discriminate positive affective content and detect objects and shapes appearing at various locations across their entire field of view. Overall performance was linked to the level of visual impairment and whether it affected one or both eyes. Importantly, all participants successfully used the off-the-shelf VR headset. These findings provide preliminary insights into the usability of VR technologies for users with MD.
KW - affective videos
KW - eye tracking
KW - grid search
KW - macular degeneration
KW - Virtual reality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85210805552&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-031-78593-1_12
DO - 10.1007/978-3-031-78593-1_12
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85210805552
SN - 9783031785924
T3 - Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
SP - 182
EP - 203
BT - Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality - 21st EuroXR International Conference, EuroXR 2024, Proceedings
A2 - Reyes-Lecuona, Arcadio
A2 - Zachmann, Gabriel
A2 - Bordegoni, Monica
A2 - Chen, Jian
A2 - Karaseitanidis, Giannis
A2 - Pagani, Alain
A2 - Bourdot, Patrick
PB - Springer
CY - Cham, Switzerland
Y2 - 27 November 2024 through 29 November 2024
ER -