We evaluated amblyopia treatment, comparing training with glasses only and training with glasses and the Occlu-pad, a binocular open-type amblyopia training device. Forty-six children (4.8 ± 1.1 years) diagnosed with anisometropic amblyopia, all wearing complete correction glasses, were treated either with glasses only, or with glasses in combination with the Occlu-pad (training time: 2 days a week, 30 minutes per day). We compared visual acuity scores at 3 and 6 months after treatment had started, and examined the compliance rate for the Occlu-pad training. Three months as well as 6 months after amblyopia treatment started, the “Occlu-pad treatment group” showed significantly improved visual acuity, compared to the “Glasses treatment group” (at both 3 and 6 months: p < 0.0001). The compliance rate for using the Occlu-pad was 88.4 ± 18.7% after 3 months and 69.6 ± 19.5%, after 6 months. There was no significant correlation between the training time using the Occlu-pad and improvement in visual acuity (3 months: p = 0.97; 6 months: p = 0.55). The compliance rate for months 4 to 6 was significantly lower than that for months 1 to 3 (p = 0.003). Amblyopia treatment using the Occlu-pad device in combination with glasses led to a better effect than treatment with glasses alone.

Our findings suggest that the Occlu-pad is an effective tool for the management of anisometropic amblyopia in children.

Purpose: To investigate the usefulness and efficacy of a novel eye-tracking device that can objectively measure nine gaze-directions. Methods: We measured each of the nine gaze-directions subjectively, using a conventional Hess screen test, and objectively, using the nine gaze-direction measuring device, and de-termined the correlation, addition error, and proportional error. We obtained two consecu-tive measurements of the nine gaze-directions using the newly developed device in healthy young people with exophoria and investigated the reproducibility of the measurements. We further measured the nine gaze-directions using a Hess screen test and the newly developed device in three subjects with cover test-based strabismus and compared the results. Results: We observed that the objective measurements obtained with the newly developed gaze-direction measuring device had significant correlation and addition error compared to the conventional subjective method, and we found no proportional error. These measure-ments had good reproducibility. Conclusion: The novel device can be used to observe delayed eye movement associated with limited eye movement in the affected eye, as well as the associated excessive movement of the healthy eye in patients with strabismus, similar to the Hess screen test. This is a useful device that can provide objective measurements of nine gaze-directions.

We developed a novel, low-cost, easily administered method that uses a polarizing film to enable dichoptic treatment for amblyopia. In this study, we compared its effects with occlusion therapy using an eye patch. Fifty-eight patients (aged 4.7 ± 1.0 years) diagnosed with anisometric amblyopia were included and instructed to wear complete refractive correction glasses with either occlusion therapy using an eye patch (eye patch group) or dichoptic treatment using polarizing film (polarizing film group) for 2 h per day. We examined the improvement in the visual acuity and compliance rate of the patients 2 months after treatment initiation. After treatment, the polarizing film group showed significant improvement in visual acuity compared with the eye patch group. Moreover, the compliance rate was significantly better in the polarizing film group than in the eye patch group. In both groups, there was a significant correlation between the improvement in visual acuity and compliance rate. This new dichoptic treatment using a polarizing film was shown to be effective for anisometropic amblyopia.

Greater activation of the visual cortex is achieved when subjects are treated with both eyes open as compared to subjects with one eye occluded. From a perspective of functional brain activation, amblyopia treatment administered without occluding the healthy eye may provide the greatest therapeutic benefit.