3D Vision and Eye Health, What Should You Know?

As a parent, you may recognise the pressures of new fangled technology when it comes to Christmas. More immediately, with Easter approaching, you'll be sure to hear requests for a Nintendo 3DS or for a family run to the local high street cinema to see the newest 3D release. But what are the effects of using such a device, or indeed, the concept? It may give preferential gaming pleasure over the normal screen handsets, but are we stretching our limits when it comes to prolonged exposure?

We perceive the world in three-dimensions even though the input to our visual system, the images projected onto our two retinas, has only two spatial dimensions. The visual system can infer the third dimension, depth, from a variety of visual cues in the retinal images. One such cue is binocular disparity, the positional difference between the two retinal projections of a given point in space. This positional difference results from the fact that the two eyes are laterally separated and therefore see the world from two slightly different vantage points.

Research carried out by the BBC reported that 3D use within the classroom was having a positive effect on students grading, by an average of 17%. In fact, the research conducted in seven schools across Europe, found that 3D-enabled learning tools helped children concentrate more. Is this bringing the game-play addiction of under sixteens into a new order? Introducing it to schools surely taps into a geek-culture which most teenagers in particular have an avid interest in.

So if a child is using 3D at school and then returns home to at least two hours of game play a night what are our eyes having to cope with? Lets look at the benefits of using such technology as the downfalls are common and well documented.

• The ability to perceive depth in a 3D presentation turns out to be a highly sensitive test of a range of vision health indicators and much more sensitive than the standard eye chart that has been in use for 150 years. This is because 3D viewing requires that both eyes function in a coordinated manner, as they converge, focus and track the 3D image.
• The good news is that for the 1 in 4 children that may have underlying issues with vision, 3D viewing can help identify and even treat these undetected problems. Schools may be onto something!
• These conditions generally respond well to treatments afforded by a comprehensive eye exam. As an added benefit the treatments will additionally assist the child in most all reading and learning tasks.

Of course, not seeing 3D can also flag up an eye health issue. If you are having trouble seeing 3D, this might mean that you have problems with your binocular or stereo vision. Prompting a return to eye charts and possibly a diagnosis for improvement from your optometrist.