3D Movies

Think about the last time you sat down and watched a 3D movie. The objects magically popped out towards you in the darkness of space with such realism that you reached forward only to grasp air. If you removed the glasses and watched the screen again, the images appeared double and flat.  As you put the glasses back on, you close one eye at a time only to realize that each eye is seeing a different projected flat image, yet that wonderful depth re-appears as soon as you let both eyes view the illusion together.

Viewing with Two Eyes

Playing with these glasses simply bring awareness to what many people already do day-to-day naturally, which is, see 3D. Each eye views an image separate, and together, some brains are able to magically synthesize the depth perception while using bino-cular (two eyed) vision. Processing with two eyes helps the brain process finer detail, contrast, and motion more efficiently compared with only one eye being used.
In patients who have eye turns (also known as strabismus), viewing with both eyes can be uncomfortable. In cases especially when the eye turn is on one side, the brain has may adapt to ignoring the image from the turning eye (also known as suppression) to avoid confusion and double vision. In patients with lazy eye (also known as amblyopia), patching one eye to strengthen vision in the weaker eye still does not teach the brain to promote the eyes working together.

Vision Rehabilitation Tools

Vision rehabilitation therapy may use tools such as, monocular fixation in a binocular field, or bi-ocular (MFBF) to help ease the process. This concept allows both eyes to view a target, while each eye sees selective parts of the same picture. In the example, the target is the letter chart that consists of red print or black letters against a black background. Patients wear the red-green filters seen on the chart below. If the brain shuts down the signal, or suppresses, one eye, the wearer becomes unable to see the full chart. One can adjust the size of the filters and change the color arrangement or the viewing target to penalize or help the brain favor viewing one side versus the other.
Lenses, prisms, and filters, such as those used in MFBF, are some of the unique tools used in optometric vision rehabilitation therapy. To read more, please check out some of our older blogs.