About Lazy Eye

“Lazy Eye”, scientifically referred to as “Amblyopia," is a common visual problem affecting approximately 2% of the population. It occurs when the vision pathways in the brain fail to develop normally, resulting in impaired vision.

Amblyopia develops during childhood. The most common causes are strabismus (crossed eyes) or anisometropia (one eye being strongly near- or far-sighted compared to the other eye). In normal eyesight, the brain receives images from each eye and merges them into one. In Amblyopia, the brain receives very different images from each eye and cannot merge them. When this occurs, the brain ignores images from the weaker - lazy eye. As a result, the brain’s vision system for that eye fails to develop normally. Over time, the lazy eye becomes weak and loss of vision occurs. At this stage, the problem cannot be corrected with glasses, surgery or other optical measures, since the problem is related to the brain and not to the eye.

Lazy Eye and Visual Impairment

According to the National Eye Institute in the US, Amblyopia ("Lazy Eye") is the leading cause of vision loss in one eye in people aged 20-70+, surpassing diabetes, glaucoma and cataract.

By definition, an amblyopic eye has a visual acuity worse than 20/30. Visual acuity in an amblyopic eye can range from 20/30 to 20/200 (clinically blind) and worse. Because people with lazy eye primarily rely on vision from one eye, they lack stereovision (three-dimensional viewing ability). Their depth perception is impaired, and peripheral and night visions can also be weakened. Amblyopia, therefore, may interfere with certain occupations (drivers, pilots) and recreational activities. In addition, people with Amblyopia are at an increased risk for blindness from loss of vision in their stronger eye.

Visual impairment can be attributed to the brain’s incorrect processing of image parts, and impaired integration of image parts. These factors lead to disturbed perception of image contours and edges, and images do not appear sharp or clear. Although these are the factors leading to visual impairment, it is important to note that each person with Amblyopia is affected in a unique way.

Treating Lazy Eye in Children

“Lazy Eye” is correctable if detected and treated early (before the age of 8 or 9). Early detection is a key factor in successful treatment by a pediatric ophthalmologist. Patching, where a child must wear an eye patch over the stronger eye for an extended period of time, is the most common form of treatment. However, many children do not comply with their treatment schedule because patches may be viewed as uncomfortable or socially embarrassing. Since the stronger eye is patched, children must learn to cope with poorer vision in the weaker eye until it becomes stronger. For these reasons, combined with the fact that Amblyopia often goes undetected in childhood, many children become adults with Amblyopia.

Treating Lazy Eye in Adults

By the time a person with a lazy eye reaches adulthood, there is generally significant vision loss, resulting from years of the brain ignoring signals from the weaker eye. Until recently, Amblyopia in people over the age of 9 was an untreatable condition. Utilizing the results of decades of research, NVC was created for treatment of Amblyopia in adults. See the next section for more background and information about NeuroVision’s Treatment.

Background on NeuroVision’s Treatment

Treatment Goals

The goal of NVC is to improve the vision of the amblyopic (lazy) eye.

In order to improve a person's vision, MSO's NVC by Neurovision “re-trains” the brain to work correctly. This involves teaching the brain to better process small image parts, and to correctly integrate contours and edges.

These goals are achieved through interactive, computer-based methods. Because Amblyopia affects each person differently, the NVC treatment system automatically tailors each treatment to the individual needs of each person.

The Treatment Process

Once you are ready for the treatment, you will then begin a series of computerized treatment sessions. During a treatment session, you will sit in a darkened room, about 5 feet in front of a computer monitor that displays series of visual perception tasks. You will wear headphones for audio feedback during the treatment session. Your strong eye will be covered with special glasses while you perform the visual perception tasks with the lazy eye. A variety of dynamic and interactive tasks are designed to help improve the way the brain processes images, and to strengthen the visual pathways of the weaker (amblyopic) eye. The tasks are controlled by the computer application during the session, allowing the personalization of the treatment process to match your individual needs.

After every five treatment sessions, the clinic staff will check your visual acuity to monitor your improvement progress.

Sample Visual Task

The visual task below is an example of something that you might see while participating in the treatment.

Example: You will see the two frames that are shown below on the computer screen. The frames are presented one after the other for a very short exposure time.

1st frame: Target and stimulating images	2nd frame: No Target

The first frame has three images, the center one is the target image and the outer ones are the stimulating images. The second frame has no target.

You should identify the frame with the target and therefore the first frame is the correct answer.

More information on the specific treatment tasks is provided in the following sections of this information sheet.

Length of Treatment

Treatment sessions generally last about 30 minutes, with 2-4 sessions per week. Duration of this treatment schedule varies by individual, depending on the amount of visual impairment and pace of progression. You will undergo at least 12 treatment sessions. If you do not show any improvement after twelve consecutive sessions, your treatment will be terminated. However, if you show improvement the treatment could last up to about 3 months.

Personalized Treatment

The NVC treatment station is connected to the a central Data Center. After each treatment session, the treatment results are automatically sent to the Data Center, where proprietary algorithmic software customizes and sets up the treatment for the next session. The level of difficulty of each session is based on your individual progress.

Previous Clinical Studies

Dr. Uri Polat, a leading neuroscientist, and his colleagues have pioneered research in visual perception, attention and memory. The NVC treatment is based on the result of decades of research and extensive testing. Data collected during Phase II clinical trials conducted in Israel, have shown the efficacy of this experimental treatment. Among 44 patients who have undergone the experimental treatment, average individual visual acuity improvement was over 80% (2.5 lines of improvement in the visual acuity chart test), with all ages showing improvement.

Study results indicate that the visual acuity improvement persists even after 12 months.

Summary

NVC is the only FDA cleared treatment for Amblyopia with an abundance of a supporting clinical studies and many peer reviewed articles were published on the subject.

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