Technology increases visual field in patients after stroke

Boca Raton, FL-New FDA-approved technology (Vision Restoration Therapy, Nova Vision Inc.) delivers a custom-designed pattern of light of varying intensity to the edges of the visual field to increase the field in patients whose vision is impaired due to stroke, according to recently reported research.

At an American Stroke Association conference in February, Jose G. Romano, MD, associate professor of neurology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, and a member of the company’s scientific and medical board, presented the findings of a review of 161 patients treated at 16 sites in the United States. Patients underwent the therapy about 3 years after stroke. Average patient age was about 59 years.

Patients were treated twice a day, 6 days a week, in 30-minute sessions, fixating on a screen that delivered light stimulation. Seventy-five percent of them experienced some improvement in their vision, said Dr. Romano. The visual field changed an average of 4.9º, he told Reuters Health, equating the change to a 14.8% improvement in visual field. The success of the therapy did not seem to be related to age or time elapsed since stroke.

The company has requested that Medicare offer reimbursement for the technology.