Video games could replace eye patches for lazy eye
NCT ID NCT03288948
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether playing special binocular games on a tablet for one hour a day, five days a week, can improve vision in children aged 4 to 10 with amblyopia (lazy eye). The games show high-contrast images to the weaker eye and low-contrast images to the stronger eye, training the brain to use both eyes together. Researchers will measure changes in visual acuity, depth perception, and suppression over 12 weeks.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- binocular games on a tablet
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could offer a fun, non-invasive alternative to patching for treating lazy eye in children.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study with only 120 participants, so results may not apply to all children. The treatment requires daily commitment, and vision improvement may be modest or temporary.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 120 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2017
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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4 to 10 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * age 4-10 y * male and female * strabismic, anisometropic, or combined mechanism amblyopia * amblyopic eye best-corrected visual acuity 0.3-0.8 logMAR * fellow eye best-corrected visual acuity ≤0.1 logMAR * interocular visual acuity difference ≥0.3 logMAR * wearing glasses (if needed) for 8 weeks or no change visual acuity with glasses at 2 visits * 4 weeks apart. * child's ophthalmologist and family must be willing to forgo patching treatment during the 12-week study period * parent's informed consent * child must demonstrate understanding and ability to play binocular games Exclusion Criteria: * prematurity ≥8 weeks * coexisting ocular or systemic disease * developmental delay * strabismus \>5pd * any binocular amblyopia treatment in the past 3 months
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Retina Foundation of the Southwest
RECRUITINGDallas, Texas, 75231, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Mixed-Reality headset trains eyes to work together in adults with lazy eye
- A new exercise for the eyes: could it restore 3D vision?
- Video games vs eye patches: a new hope for lazy eye?
- Adult lazy eye may be trainable: brain plasticity under the microscope
- Can a gentle brain zap help adults with lazy eye see better?
- Magnetic pulses to the brain may restore vision in adult lazy eye