Application of head-mounted devices with eye-tracking in virtual reality therapy

• Main Authors: Lutz Otto Hans-Martin, Burmeister Charlotte, dos Santos Luara Ferreira, Morkisch Nadine, Dohle Christian, Krüger Jörg
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: De Gruyter 2017-03-01
• Series: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering
• Subjects: eye-tracking; head-mounted devices; hygiene; virtual reality therapy
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1515/cdbme-2017-0012

Using eye-tracking to assess visual attention in head-mounted devices (HMD) opens up many possibilities for virtual reality (VR)-based therapy. Existing therapy concepts where attention plays a major role can be transferred to VR. Furthermore, they can be expanded to a precise real-time attention assessment, which can serve as a foundation for new therapy approaches. Utilizing HMDs and eye-tracking in a clinical environment is challenging because of hygiene issues and requirements of patients with heterogeneous cognitive and motor impairments. In this paper, we provide an overview of those challenges, discuss possible solutions and present preliminary results of a study with patients.