Do you understand what I see? Which Simulation Is Best at Clarifying how People with a Visual Field Defect Experience the World?

Abstract

The goal of this study was to compare the validity of four simulations of visual field defects. The goal of the simulations was to give close friends and family members of people with a visual field defect an idea of how a person with a visual field defect sees the world. People from the client system were shown four different simulations of the effect of a visual field defect (VFD): taped off safety glasses, an augmented reality app on a smartphone, a small gaze-contingent simulation on a 17-inch monitor, and a large gaze-contingent simulation on a projection screen. The validity was evaluated by means of a questionnaire. The large gaze-contingent simulation has been found to increase understanding of the consequences VFDs have on daily life. This can be seen as validation for the large gaze-contingent simulation, for other simulations more research would be needed. No other differences were found in the quantitative analysis. Most participants preferred to use the taped off safety glasses if they had to explain what their close friends/family member does and does not see, followed by the simulation on the large gaze-contingent simulation. The advice for Royal Dutch Visio is to use both large gaze- contingent simulation and modified safety glasses, whenever clients ask for help explaining their VFD to their close friends and family members.