Clinical Research Directory

Video Treatment for Amblyopia

The purpose of this study is to determine whether viewing asynchronous movies leads to better visual outcomes in young children with amblyopia than standard-of-care occlusion therapy with an adhesive patch and whether this is associated with better adherence to treatment.

Optical Correction and Visual Functions of Adults With Amblyopia

Amblyopia is a developmental anomaly resulting from abnormal visual experiences in early life. Amblyopia causes reduced visual acuity in the absence of a pathology. Adult sensory systems are believed to be structurally invariant beyond early, critical periods of development. However, recent evidence suggest that visual functions in adults with amblyopia can be improved with optical correction alone. This study aims to investigate whether improvements in best corrected visual acuity and other visual functions can result following appropriate optical correction in adults with amblyopia. Functional measures relating to vision, binocular vision, and eye movements will be used to assess the efficacy of refractive correction for improving vision. This study will help us better understand the improvements in visual functions following optical correction, as well as the mechanisms underlying neuroplasticity in adults with amblyopia.

A Study on the Efficacy and User Experience of Gamified Intervention for Children With Anisometropic Amblyopia

This project addresses the challenge of visual function intervention in children with monocular anisometropic amblyopia. It employs two innovatively designed digital games combined with occlusion therapy to conduct visual function training through parent-child interaction in home or multi-scenario environments. The study will compare this combined approach against traditional occlusion therapy alone, evaluating improvements in visual function, intrinsic motivation, and emotion regulation before and after the intervention. The research aims to promote the implementation and dissemination of personalized and engaging healthcare services. Ultimately, it seeks to establish a comprehensive visual function training product and service system suitable for daily use in home settings, with the goals of reducing medical anxiety in children and holistically enhancing treatment efficacy, training compliance, and overall clinical experience.

Visual Function Abnormalities in Strabismus and Amblyopia and Response to Therapy

Amblyopia and strabismus are characterized by a reduction in visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, grating acuity, vernier acuity, reading difficulties and binocular visual function deficits. Treated patients have residual visual function deficits. The purpose of the current study is to quantify various visual functions in amblyopic and strabismic participants at baseline, during and at the completion of treatment.

Binocular Amblyopia Treatment

To evaluate the effectiveness of enhanced binocular amblyopia treatments in achieving a more complete and stable recovery.

Possible Beneficial Effects Of Combined Fluoxetine And Occlusion Therapy In Improving And Maintaining Vision In Amblyopia Using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) And Visual Evoked Potential (VEP). The Aim Of The Study Is To Evaluate Possible Beneficial Effects For Different Age Groups.

Amblyopia is described as a limitation of the visual function of one or both eyes with no pathological cause, with a prevalence of about 1-5% of the total world population. This disorder is caused by early abnormal visual experience with a functional imbalance between the two eyes owing to anisometropia, strabismus, congenital cataract and ptosis, resulting in a dramatic loss of visual acuity (VA) in an apparently healthy eye. Clinically, amblyopia can be defined as the presence in one or both eyes of a VA of 6/12 or worse, with one or more lines of difference in VA between eyes in unilateral amblyopia which cannot be improved by refractive correction. This condition is an alteration of the visual cortex function which is due to suppression and deprivation of one eye leading to unilateral visual deterioration. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive technique that can reveal morphology of the retinal layers in vivo. OCT determines structural changes in the macula that may be correlated with measures of subjective visual function such as visual acuity and visual field. OCT angiography (OCTA) can provide vascular system visualization of the posterior segment in amblyopic eyes. Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) are a non-invasive technique routinely used in clinical and preclinical practice. VEPs allow to quantify the functional integrity of the visual system from the retina via the optic nerves, optic tracts, to the thalamus, and form projections to the visual cortices. In strabismic and anisometropic amblyopia, VEP responses are reduced. VEP may be used as an alternative objective method for diagnosis and monitoring of amblyopia. Passive treatments such as occlusion, optical and/or pharmacological penalization, and Bangerter foils have been demonstrated to be potentially useful treatments for amblyopia. Researches are being done on new pharmacological options to improve and maintain VA after occlusion treatment in amblyopia. Adults with amblyopia cannot be treated because their brains do not have enough plasticity. However, results obtained both in clinical trials and in animal models have challenged this traditional view, unmasking a previously unsuspected potential for promoting recovery after the end of the critical period for visual cortex plasticity. These studies point toward the intracortical inhibitory transmission as a crucial brake for therapeutic rehabilitation and recovery from amblyopia in the adult brain. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) increase serotonin activity in the brain. While they are mostly known for their antidepressant properties, they have been shown to improve visual functions in amblyopia and impact cognitive functions ranging from attention to motivation and sensitivity to reward.

Ocular Characteristics in Patients With Craniosynostosis

Craniosynostosis are cranial deformations due to the premature closure of one or more cranial sutures. These deformations affect approximately one in 2.500 births. In most cases, craniosynostoses are isolated with unknown (non syndrome). On the other hand, 20% of these deformations are associated with other concentration (syndrome). Craniosynostosis has morphological (associated dysmorphism) and functional (growth conflict between the skull and the brain) repercussions. Ophthalmological disorders are frequent: refractive disorders, oculomotor disorders, optic nerve damage, sensory damage. This retrospective study aims to describe the ocular clinical characteristics associated with craniosynostosis in patients followed at the Amiens University Hospital.

Dichoptic Treatment for Amblyopia in Children 8 to 12 Years of Age

Participants eligible for the study will be randomly allocated (1:1:1) to receive either Luminopia dichoptic treatment while wearing optical correction if needed, Vivid Vision dichoptic treatment while wearing optical correction if needed, or continued optical correction alone if needed, with clinical assessments at 9- and 18-weeks post-randomization. At the 18-week primary outcome visit, participants who were randomly assigned to receive optical correction alone if needed with an IOD of 1 logMAR line (5 letters) or more, will be offered randomization to Luminopia or Vivid Vision dichoptic therapy and if they accept, followed forward with visits at 27- and 36-weeks post-randomization. The study will end for all other participants at 18 weeks.

A Randomized Trial to Evaluate Sequential vs Simultaneous Patching

A randomized trial to determine whether simultaneous treatment with spectacles and patching has an equivalent VA outcome compared with sequential treatment, first with spectacles alone followed by patching (if needed), for previously untreated amblyopia in children 3 to \<13 years of age.

Dichoptic Treatment for Amblyopia in Children 4 to 7 Years of Age

In children 4 to 7 years of age, to determine if treatment with 1 hour per day 6 days per week of watching dichoptic movies/shows wearing the Luminopia headset is non-inferior to treatment with 2 hours of patching per day 7 days per week with respect to change in amblyopic eye distance VA from randomization to 26 weeks.

Evaluation of AmblyoFix for the Treatment of Unilateral Amblyopia in Children

This is a prospective, single-arm, non-inferiority clinical trial designed to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and adherence of AmblyoFix binocular digital therapy for the treatment of unilateral amblyopia in children aged 7 to 12 years. Outcomes will be compared against a retrospective cohort of patients of the same age range previously treated with standard occlusion (patching) at the same clinic. A total of 33 participants will be enrolled, allowing for up to 15% attrition to ensure at least 28 evaluable completers at Week 24. Eligible participants must have unilateral amblyopia with amblyopic-eye best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) between 0.3 and 1.3 logMAR and an interocular difference of at least 0.2 logMAR, with stable refractive correction for at least 16 weeks prior to enrollment. The primary outcome is the change in amblyopic-eye BCVA (logMAR) from baseline to Week 24, assessed under standardized Snellen or ETDRS protocol by certified, masked outcome assessors. Secondary outcomes include adherence (captured via in-software usage logs), safety (BCVA worsening ≥2 lines and ocular adverse events), and patient-reported outcomes (acceptability, usability, satisfaction). An interim analysis will be conducted at Week 6 and at Week 12 to review early efficacy and safety, with the option to recommend early termination if robust evidence of non-inferiority is demonstrated. In addition to the primary study population of unilateral amblyopia, an exploratory subgroup of 3 or more participants with bilateral amblyopia may be enrolled for observational evaluation. Treatment will initially target the eye with worse BCVA as selected in the AmblyoFix software. Upon sufficient improvement, as determined by the Principal Investigator, treatment may be switched to the other eye within the software settings. Data from the bilateral exploratory cohort will be analyzed descriptively and reported separately. These data will not contribute to the primary non-inferiority analysis. Participants and caregivers cannot be blinded due to the nature of the intervention; however, outcome assessors and statisticians will remain masked to study objectives and comparator data to minimize bias. Follow-up assessments will occur at baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and Week 24, with no additional amblyopia treatment permitted during the study unless clinically required. This trial is designed to rigorously determine whether AmblyoFix is a safe, effective, and non-inferior alternative to patching, with the potential to improve adherence, usability, and acceptability in real-world amblyopia therapy.

Patch-free Occlusion Therapy

The purpose of the study is to determine whether a patch-free occlusion therapy leads to better visual outcomes in young children with amblyopia than standard-of-care occlusion therapy with an adhesive patch and whether this is associated with better adherence to the treatment.

Morning Versus Evening Patching in Childhood Amblyopia

To determine whether the time of day at which daily occlusion (patching) is administered - morning (08:00-10:00) versus evening (17:00-19:00) - affects the amount of visual-acuity improvement in the amblyopic eye in children with unilateral amblyopia. Rationale: While occlusion therapy remains the mainstay for treatment of childhood amblyopia, existing trials have focused on patching duration, not on the timing of occlusion. Diurnal or chronobiological factors - such as fluctuations in neuroplasticity, attention, compliance, or visual demand during the day - may influence the efficacy of patching. Understanding whether timing matters could help optimize occlusion therapy, improve outcomes, and reduce treatment burden.

VISION-3D: Visual Skills Improvement With On-screen 3D Movies.

This clinical study investigates whether watching 3D films can help improve the vision of children with residual amblyopia (lazy eye), that is, those children who, despite having undergone usual treatments such as glasses or patching, still maintain some visual deficit. The main objective is to verify whether viewing in 3D is better than viewing in 2D in improving depth vision (stereopsis), visual acuity and ocular alignment. The hypothesis is that 3D films, by providing richer binocular stimuli, will produce greater improvements than the same 2D films. Children between 4 and 14 years of age with residual, stable and previously treated unilateral amblyopia will be included. Participants will be recruited from the pediatric ophthalmology/optometry clinics of the Mútua University Hospital The study will be conducted in two locations: the visual examinations will be performed at the Mútua University Hospital in Terrassa, and the film sessions at the Faculty of Optics and Optometry of Terrassa (FOOT, UPC), in rooms prepared with a projector and 3D glasses. The design is randomized and controlled. In a first phase, the children will be randomly divided into two groups: one group will watch 3 films in 3D and the other will watch the same films in 2D. Then, in a second phase, all participants will watch 3 additional sessions in 3D. Four evaluation visits will be made: before starting, after phase 1, after phase 2 and a follow-up two months later. These visits will measure stereopsis, visual acuity, and ocular deviation with standard optometric tests. Watching 3D movies is a safe and non-invasive activity; therefore, no significant risks are expected beyond some possible mild and transient discomfort such as eye strain or headache, which will be recorded if it occurs. Potential benefits include improved depth perception and other visual functions, and the results could open the door to new, fun and motivating therapeutic options for other children with amblyopia in the future.

Establishing New Treatment Approaches for Amblyopia: Perceptual Learning and Video Games

Amblyopia, a developmental abnormality that impairs spatial vision, is a major cause of vision loss, resulting in reduced visual acuity and reduced sensitivity to contrast. This study uses psychophysical measures to study neural plasticity in both adults and children with amblyopia.

Amblyopia Treatment for Children Aged 8 to 12 Years

This study is being done to assess the effect of at-home amblyopia treatment with Curesight™ for children aged 8 to 12 years. Curesight™ allows you to stream any videos on a computer screen at home but the amblyopic eye will see the entire screen clearly while part of the image will be blurred for the other eye. There is already a pivotal clinical trial showing that this treatment is effective for young children and Curesight™ has been cleared for use as an amblyopia treatment by the FDA for children as young as 4 years.

Valproate for the Treatment of Residual Amblyopia

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the efficacy of valproate as an adjunct therapy to treat amblyopia beyond the critical period in children aged 8-17 years who have amblyopia of ≥3 lines of interocular best-corrected (with glasses) visual acuity difference. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does valproate enable clinically meaningful and durable visual recovery from amblyopia? * Do valproate-treated patients show a change in amblyopic eye visual acuity (lines)? Participants will undergo daily patching for 2 hours (standard of care) plus the addition of valproate or placebo for a total of 16 weeks.

Clinical Data Registry of Amblyopia Patients on Luminopia Treatment

Amblyopia is the most prevalent cause of reduced monocular visual acuity in children and young adults, with estimates of prevalence ranging from 1% to 5%. The most common associated amblyogenic risk factors are uncorrected anisometropia, strabismus, or a combination of these. In addition to reduced visual acuity, amblyopic patients may also have measurable dysfunction of accommodation, fixation, binocularity, vergence, reading fluency, depth perception, and contrast sensitivity. For the first time since the incorporation of atropine penalization into amblyopia management, physicians can now offer Luminopia, an FDA-approved dual action dichoptic treatment, to patients with amblyopia. Since the product became commercially available in November 2022, the number of patients on Luminopia therapy continues to grow. This presents a unique opportunity to gather real world evidence from a large number of patients, representative of how ophthalmologists and optometrists are applying this novel treatment in the real world. A registry of the clinical data associated with Luminopia treatment, with IRB oversight, will provide answers to key scientific questions using a large dataset.

The Effect of Early Glasses on the Development of Amblyopia

In a randomized controlled trial, we will establish whether early glasses for high refractive error at age one reduce the development of amblyopia between age one and four. As a secondary outcome early literacy will be compared in groups with and without glasses.

Early Detection and Prevention of Amblyopia and Visual Impairment Through Systematic Pediatric Vision Screening

Amblyopia, characterized by reduced visual acuity, develops in childhood due to insufficient sensory stimulation of the affected eye. It is the leading cause of low vision and loss of stereoscopic vision in both children and adults. Currently, 99 million people worldwide are affected, with recent projections indicating 222 million by 2040. Amblyopia can result from anisometropia (70%), strabismus (30%), or the presence of an ocular pathology (1%). Early management of these conditions (before the age of 7) can prevent the onset of amblyopia. Therefore, screening for these conditions is a major public health challenge to reduce the prevalence and associated costs of visual impairment. The French-speaking Association of Strabology and Pediatric Ophthalmology (AFSOP) recommends systematic amblyopia screening for 3-year-old children. This screening involves measuring monocular visual acuity in both eyes (LEA chart at 3 meters), checking for strabismus (cover/uncover test), and performing a stereoscopic vision test (e.g., Lang I test). Amblyopia is currently underdiagnosed for two main reasons: 1) it is often asymptomatic (75% of cases) and therefore cannot be detected without systematic screening; and 2) there is significant difficulty in accessing medical care in certain regions, and thus access to professionals capable of performing this screening (doctors, orthoptists). The difficulty in accessing healthcare professionals capable of screening for amblyopia in children aged 3 to 7 has already been raised. We believe it would be beneficial to have an alternative screening method that is equivalent to the AFSOP-recommended method and accessible in areas with limited healthcare professionals. An eye-tracking system implemented in a virtual reality (VR) headset has recently been developed for monitoring eye movements. This system has shown effectiveness in rehabilitating visual field impairments in patients with traumatic brain injury. The system allows for remote monitoring of rehabilitation sessions, and data can be downloaded and viewed remotely via Wi-Fi. The main objective of this study will be to estimate the sensitivity of the new VR-based eye-tracking screening method amblyopia screening method using an eye-tracking system implemented in a virtual reality headset compared to standard screening in children aged 3 to 7 years.

Interactive Binocular Treatment (I- BiT) in Adult Patients With Anisometropic Amblyopia

Amblyopia is one of the common, preventable and treatable causes of decreased acuity of one or both eyes without a specific organic cause. Common treatments include optical correction, patching (closing the healthy eye), perceptual learning, and drug treatments. The patient's low cooperation, reduction in effectiveness and long treatment period of common methods have led to the design of new treatments that eliminate these disadvantages, among which binocular vision treatments can be mentioned. The purpose of this study is to apply a new and innovative method under binocular conditions in the treatment of anisometropic amblyopia in adults. In this randomized clinical trial study, 30 people (15 patients in the case group and 15 patients in the control group) aged 18 to 40 years with amblyopia (decrease in best corrected vision worse than 0.3 logarithmic units in one of the eyes or the difference of the corrected minimum visual acuity of two lines between two eyes) in the form of two groups of 15 people (case and control) will be included in the study. Patients will be randomly divided into two groups: case and control. Interactive Binocular Treatment (I-BiT) is used in the case group and usual games without I-BiT system are used as placebo in the other group. For this purpose, the games will be presented in the control group in such a way that the two eyes will not be dissociated and the patient will see all the targets in the same way with his two eyes. I-BiT is a new method for the treatment of amblyopia in which a person plays age-appropriate games using special glasses in a 3D space. The stimuli are shown differently to the two eyes and both eyes are involved in the treatment process. The selection of people in two groups will be such that background variables such as age, sex, as well as the severity of amblyopia or vision loss in the two groups are the same and confounding factors are under control. First, all eye examinations such as measuring visual acuity, lateral vision, checking refractive errors with and without cycloplegic drops, checking the alignment of visual axes, and also checking the anterior and posterior segments of the eye are performed. After the definitive diagnosis of amblyopia, people in both groups will be asked to use the given virtual games in the same way for one month, 5 sessions per week, each session for 30 minutes. In order to control the amount of use of computer games by patients, the duration of time that people use games will be controlled and recorded online using software by design engineers. Patients will be examined before treatment, one month after treatment and also one month after stopping treatment.

Novel Amblyopia Treatment With Virtual Reality Games

The goal of this study is to compare the change in amblyopic eye acuity between treatment periods in children with amblyopia, aged 5-17 years. The main question it aims to answer is: Is a 16-week course of amblyopia treatment using Vivid Vision Therapeutic (Dichoptic) Virtual Reality Games for approx. 25 min/day, 6 days/week more effective for improvement in amblyopic-eye VA, binocularity (stereoacuity, suppression, alignment), contrast sensitivity, attention, oculomotor function, visual-motor integration, and quality of life than 16 weeks of continued glasses alone? Participants will each serve as their own control and complete: Treatment period 1: Continued optical correction (glasses) alone for 16 weeks; Treatment period 2: Vivid Vision Therapeutic (Dichoptic) Virtual Reality Games for 16 weeks (approx. 25min/day, 6 days/week) plus continued optical correction

Effect of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Visual Functions of Adult Amblyopia: a Preliminary Study

Amblyopia, with a prevalence rates of 3% in adult population, is a common cause of vision impairment. It is characterized by impaired vision in one or both eyes because of disruption of normal visual stimuli and underdevelopment of the visual cortex, leads to lifelong visual deficits affecting both monocular and binocular visual function. Common causes of amblyopia include refraction error, anisometropia, strabismus and visual deprivation arising from ptosis or congenital cataract. Our previous studies had shed light on the relationship between abnormal early visual experience, and development of later amblyopia and possible neural developmental disorders. Functional recovery is difficult when neuroplasticity slows down at the end of the critical period. To date, there is no established effective treatment for adult amblyopia. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is one of the non-invasive stimulations had been used widely as a research tool to understand the brain functions and an established treatment modality in neuropsychiatric diseases. Theta burst stimulation (TBS) is a newer form of rTMS protocol which have a major advantage over traditional rTMS in their reduced administration duration and allowing stimulation at significantly lower intensities to attain comparable effects. TBS had been demonstrated to able to improve functions in participants with visual disorders. However, studies of its use on adult amblyopia are scarce. Due to lack of efficient treatment at present, it is of scientific significance to conduct placebo-controlled experiments on this topic. Investigators will evaluate the effect of three regimens of TBS (intermittent, continuous and sham), after one session and accumulative sessions, on visual functions of amblyopia adults shortly after treatment and 2 weeks later (lasting effect), in order to evaluate its potential role in amblyopia and find out the best paradigm for amblyopia treatment.

Binocular iPad Sub-Study

1. To determine whether a binocular iPad game app is effective in improving visual acuity and reducing interocular suppression in amblyopic children 2. To compare the amount of visual acuity improvement achieved with the binocular game app to the amount achieved with patching (standard treatment for amblyopia)