The New Jersey Institute of Technology's
Electronic Theses & Dissertations Project

Title:	Vergence eye movement parameters for pre/post-obvat and sham therapy on binocularly normal controls
Author:	Rajah, Joel V.
View Online:	njit-etd2019-015 (xii, 90 pages ~ 4.2 MB pdf)
Department:	Department of Biomedical Engineering
Degree:	Master of Science
Program:	Biomedical Engineering
Document Type:	Thesis
Advisory Committee:	Alvarez, Tara L. (Committee chair) Li, Xiaobo (Committee member) Santos, Elio M. (Committee member) Scheiman, Mitchell (Committee member)
Date:	2019-05
Keywords:	Vergence Vergence eye movement Convergence insufficiency
Availability:	Unrestricted
Abstract:	Vergence is the disjunctive movement of the eyes to maintain single binocular vision. Vergence eye movements are necessary to maintain the object of interest on the fovea of each eye as an individual looks from one object to another. Recent studies show that office based vergence/accommodative therapy (OBVAT) is an effective treatment for the binocular dysfunction known as convergence insufficiency. This study was performed to investigate the changes in oculomotor parameters parameter data for pre- and post-therapy subjects who are binocularly normal controls. A haploscope was used to collect eye movement data pre- and post-therapy. The analysis of the eye movements was done in MATLAB. Fifty binocularly normal controls participated in 12 hours of office-based therapy where half participated in OBVAT and the remaining half participated in office-based placebo therapy (OBPT) therapy. The latency, time to peak velocity, peak velocity, response amplitude, final amplitude, and main sequence ratio were measured for participant’s responses to 4-degree and 6-degree ramps, 4- and 6-degree disappearing steps, 6- and 10-degree stepramps, and 5- and 10-degree saccades. Peak velocity was significantly greater post OBVAT therapy compared to baseline, most of them having a p£.001. Clinically meaning differences were not observed post OVPT compared to baseline. Results support that OBVAT significantly changes vergence dynamics and may be used for sports enhancement.