Tetris can fix lazy eye

Written by David Hing

April 24, 2013 | 12:26

Tags: #medical #tetris

Companies: #mcgill-university #research

Playing Tetris can treat lazy eye according to research carried out by Canadian doctors.

Treatment involving the iconic puzzler is apparently more effective at making both eyes work together than traditional patching treatment. The BBC reports that McGill University in Montreal made the discovery through a small study of 18 adults.

The test gave a pair of video goggles which split information from the game up into two parts and sent different information to each eye to each participant. One eye could only see the falling blocks whilst the second eye could only see the blocks that had been placed on the ground. This forced the eyes to work together more.

Traditional treatment instead forces the lazy eye to do all the work to try and make it catch up with the good eye, but this research suggests that the condition is better dealt with when both eyes are involved in the process.

In running the experiment, Dr Robert Hess also commented that this form of treatment is not limited to Tetris and could work with any number of other games where visual information can be split up in this way.

Further tests need to be carried out to confirm the effectiveness of the game and to establish whether it would be a good way to treat children suffering from the condition. Tests have already started in Glasgow earlier this month.

Lazy eye, officially known as amblyopia, occurs when one eye is under-developed and is normally characterised by a squint. Approximately one in 50 children has the condition and without treatment, it can lead to the loss of sight in the affected eye.
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