Assessing the Accuracy and Clinical Potential of Virtual Reality-Based Visual Field Perimetry

Visual field testing is critical in diagnosing and managing glaucoma, which affects over 80 million people worldwide, as well as other ocular diseases and stroke. Visual field test perimeters detect blind spots (scotomas) and map the boundaries of a patient’s visual field. Standard perimetry machines are accurate, but prohibitively expensive and inaccessible in low-resource settings, while traditionally accessible forms of perimetry are less reliable. Virtual reality (VR)- based perimetry systems offer a potential low-cost, accessible alternative. This study reviews the development, clinical potential, and accuracy of VR perimetry. Findings showed that VR-based perimetry systems were comparable to, and in some cases even more effective than, standard perimetry tests, but these results were not universal, suggesting that greater standardization of testing protocols is necessary.