College of Optometry faculty members Drs. Hannu Laukkanen, Jeff Rabin, Nidhi Ashwani, and Matt Pearce have begun an extensive evaluation of the EYE device created by Jacob Liberman, OD, PhD, DSc(Hon) of Maui HI.
Dr. Liberman
The EYE device consists of a plastic frame about a meter long with red and blue lights mounted along its length.
In use, the subject is seated with the device either horizontally on a table, at an angle, or with one end touching the nose.
Along the length of the EYE, red and blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) can be illuminated in various sequences under computer control. These LED colors were selected, in part, because according to Syntonic theory red lights stimulate the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system and blue lights stimulate the parasympathetic branch. Use of these colors can facilitate a rebalancing of the autonomic nervous system components.
Dr. Rabin notes that the red and blue LED colors were also selected because viewing alternating red and blue light placed equidistant from a subject can rock the visual accommodative system by as much as 1.5 D.
According to Liberman, alternately fixating these colors stimulates and relaxes the eyes' aiming and focusing mechanisms without the use of accessory lenses and prisms. The eyes respond to alternating red and blue LEDs as if lenses of opposite values were alternately placed before them, but no lenses are used. This is very important because lenses and prisms artificially affect the eyes' aiming and focusing functions, whereas color, which surrounds us in our daily life, stimulates these systems naturally.
Furthermore, because the eyes are natural light receptors, they can respond to light automatically via a reflex action. This is very different than the conscious effort all of us have been conditioned to use while we read a line of print or track a moving target. Using alternating red and blue LED's to exercise the eyes is natural and may reinforce the eyes' instinctive ability to work together effortlessly.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether the EYE can enhance a patient's ability to accurately, efficiently, and comfortably aim, track, focus, and use their eyes as a team. In the project, 40 optometry students will have acuities, refractive errors, stereopsis, accommodative and vergence abilities, visual attention times, and reading abilities assessed before and after 21 days of training with the EYE. Training will include tracking red and blue lights as they move along the EYE when it is positioned horizontally, at angles, and touching the nose.
According to Liberman, using the EYE can help patients in other ways beyond simply enhancing their eye movement abilities. It can allow them to expand their ability to see, not just in the sense of interpreting retinal images, but also in the sense of reacting to them emotionally. Liberman notes that as young infants, our eyes move reflexively to targets of interest, but as we mature this ability is superceded by our cultural conditioning. However, for many individuals if the eyes are allowed to move back and forth reflexively, in a repetitive manner, the visual system is "reminded of its natural design," and can begin to re-experience a more expanded and effortless way of seeing. Liberman also mentioned that as the eyes begin to once again move reflexively, the individual often begins to experience new levels of awareness and more emotional stability.
In the Pacific study, perceptual and emotional results of using the EYE will be evaluated using a life style questionnaire assessing:
- General Vision (blur, need for glasses, etc.)
- About My Eyes (diplopia, dryness, glare sensitivity, etc.)
- Peripheral Vision (night vision, awareness of surroundings, clumsiness)
- Attention Span (distractibility, results of sustained visual attention, etc.)
- Reading and Computer Work (reading speed and difficulty, headaches, etc.)
- Driving Vision (distance judgement, car and motion sickness, etc.)
- General Coordination and Sports Performance (tracking balls, athletic ability, etc.)
- Emotional Well-being (fear, mood swings, anxiety, quality of life, etc.)
When the project has been completed, more
information can be obtained by contacting Dr. Liberman at jil@jacobliberman.com.