EYE FOCUS | FEATURE
Program
uses gaming
to help treat
lazy eye
By Denis Langlois
An eyecare start-up company has
developed specialized software that
uses therapeutic games and exercises
to help treat lazy eye in children and
adults.
Smart Optometry is planning to
launch its home-based vision therapy
solution, AmblyoPlay, by year’s end
in Canada.
“Gamification is our biggest differ-
entiator from other programs aimed
to address a lazy eye in children,”
CEO Žan Menart tells Optical Prism
magazine.
“Through Smart Optometry’s network
of doctors, a common problem com-
municated to us from presentation to
presentation and from one country to
another was that although children
could be diagnosed and training could
be developed, kids wouldn’t do the
traditional vision therapy exercises
because they were not fun. With that
feedback, we decided to create a solu-
tion that addresses the unique needs
of children. Through gamification
and engaging software, we created an
active vision therapy that encourages
children to perform vision therapy
exercises consistently.”
Menart says it’s important to note
that AmblyoPlay does not replace the
expertise provided by eyecare profes-
sionals, which “are essential to any
eye diagnosis or vision therapy.”
It was developed to complement in-
office vision therapy.
“Our software serves as another tool
to improve visual function of patients
and improve their quality of life,” he
says.
Launching the program in the Cana-
dian ECP market is especially impor-
tant to the company, he says, because
Smart Optometry considers Canada
as a country “open to innovation.”
AmblyoPlay was designed as a ther-
apy solution for people with amblyo-
pia, mild strabismus or convergence
insufficiency.
Smart Optometry says traditional
vision therapy exercises used to
treat amblyopia are repetitive and
time-consuming, which can lead to
abandonment of the therapy for a
high proportion of patients – espe-
cially young children.
18 EYE FOCUS December Digital 2019