Mannheim/Chicago. At this year’s American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting in Chicago, USA, from 27 to 30 October, the German manufacturer VRmagic will present a slit lamp simulator for the first time. This virtual reality simulator allows trainee ophthalmologists and optometrists to perform eye examinations and diagnose diseases on simulated patient eyes.
The simulator offers all the functions of a real slit lamp. The VR technology is integrated in the original hardware of the slit lamp model BQ 900 from Haag-Streit Diagnostics. The software simulates the anatomical structures of the eye and their microscopic visualization in real time. A highly detailed and realistic simulation of healthy and pathological patient eyes allows students to practice both handling of the split lamp as well as recognition of relevant clinical pictures.
As from 2019, VRmagic will market the simulator under the name »Eyesi® Slit Lamp« through existing sales channels. In addition to a healthy eye, corneal and conjunctival pathologies are available for training in the first product version. In the next step, pathologies in the posterior segment of the eye and examination with a 90D lens will be added. In addition, VRmagic’s future plans include development of a gonioscope simulator for inspection of the iridocorneal angle between the cornea and iris and a tonometer simulator that will allow students to practice measurement of the intraocular pressure.
The slit lamp is one of the most widely used ophthalmological instruments. The complex optical and mechanical system permits high-resolution and highly magnified examination of the different areas of the eye. Handling of a slit lamp is complex, as is interpretation and diagnosis of clinical pictures.
In order to provide students with a realistic training environment, VRmagic works closely with university clinics in software development. For hardware development, VRmagic cooperated with Haag-Streit Diagnostics. Analogously to the functions of the original slit lamp, the simulator permits variation of the slit width, length and brightness and the brightness of the ambient light as well as the use of different filters. In order to reproduce all movements of the cross-slide stage and the rotation of the illumination and microscope arm of the slit lamp in real time in the simulation, VRmagic integrated extensive sensor systems and VR interfaces in the hardware of the Haag-Streit model BQ 900.
The Eyesi® Slit Lamp will be presented at the »American Academy of Ophthalmology« in Chicago from 27 to 30 October and at the »American Academy of Optometry« in San Antonio, Texas, from 7 to 10 November.
About VRmagic
VRmagic GmbH develops and markets virtual reality simulators for medical training. Today, VRmagic is the world leader with its Eyesi® training systems for eye specialists, counting over 500 installations worldwide. Since 2003, cameras for image processing in industry and science have been a second business division, leading to the establishment of VRmagic Imaging GmbH in 2016. Both companies belong to the VRmagic Holding AG, founded in 2008. VRmagic currently has 65 employees at its headquarters in Mannheim.
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