One of virtual reality’s more obvious uses would be for video games, or just entertainment in general. However recently we have seen how the technology could be used for medical purposes, and now it seems that thanks to virtual reality technology and the Google Cardboard, it has allowed a woman to see for the first time in 8 years.
The woman in question, Bonny, suffers from Stargardt disease. This is a common form of vision loss that causes the photoreceptor cells in the retina to die, which in turn could potentially cause complete vision loss. However thanks to the use of the Cardboard headset and an app called Near Sighted VR Augmented Aid, it has allowed Bonny to see again.
According to the app’s description, it basically uses the rear-facing camera on your smartphone and creates a stereoscopic image, which is how virtual reality works. “It uses the camera on your phone and displays the front image to the phone screen in stereoscopic. We feel that with time we can develop more devices and/or applications which will help people with visual or eye disabilities.”
Pair it with the cardboard and you’ve essentially gotten yourself a vision kit. We can only imagine that if paired with a more wearable headset like third-party made Cardboard headsets or maybe the Gear VR that it would be practical, but for now, it looks like it did its job just fine.
Filed in . Read more about Cardboard, Google and Virtual Reality (VR).