Viewing 3D TV over two months produces no discernible effects on balance, coordination or eyesight

Jenny C.A Read,Alan Godfrey,Iwo Bohr,Jennifer Simonotto,Brook Galna,Tom V Smulders

doi:10.1080/00140139.2015.1114682

Abstract

With the rise in stereoscopic 3D media, there has been concern that viewing stereoscopic 3D (S3D) content could have long-term adverse effects, but little data are available. In the first study to address this, 28 households who did not currently own a 3D TV were given a new TV set, either S3D or 2D. The 116 members of these households all underwent tests of balance, coordination and eyesight, both before they received their new TV set, and after they had owned it for 2 months. We did not detect any changes which appeared to be associated with viewing 3D TV. We conclude that viewing 3D TV does not produce detectable effects on balance, coordination or eyesight over the timescale studied.Practitioner Summary: Concern has been expressed over possible long-term effects of stereoscopic 3D (S3D). We looked for any changes in vision, balance and coordination associated with normal home S3D TV viewing in the 2 months after first acquiring a 3D TV. We find no evidence of any changes over this timescale.

Highlights

Man-made visual images almost always contain information about the three-dimensional structure of the depicted scenes, whether through pictorial cues such as perspective or shading, or time-varying cues such as simulated motion parallax
The questionnaires completed at recruitment indicated that the great majority of participants viewed stereoscopic 3D (S3D) only‘a few times a year’; the five households who reported viewing 3D TV ‘once a month’ at recruitment were distributed evenly across the different TV-groups (Read 2014)
This analysis indicates that our experimental manipulation was successful, i.e. giving people a 3D TV did increase their exposure to S3D content

Summary

Introduction

Man-made visual images almost always contain information about the three-dimensional structure of the depicted scenes, whether through pictorial cues such as perspective or shading, or time-varying cues such as simulated motion parallax. Some ophthalmologists have expressed concern that prolonged use of S3D displays could potentially contribute to visual impairment (Pallas, Meyer, and Mojon 2013) To address these concerns, a qualified optometrist, i.e. a sightcare professional who usually works in a primary care setting examining general eye health, measured each participant’s refractive error and their visual acuity in a range of conditions, including both near and far distances and while viewing with only one eye or both together. A qualified optometrist, i.e. a sightcare professional who usually works in a primary care setting examining general eye health, measured each participant’s refractive error and their visual acuity in a range of conditions, including both near and far distances and while viewing with only one eye or both together Together, this broad range of clinical tests was designed to reveal any adverse changes in either eyesight or binocular control which could be associated with stereoscopic 3D content over a two-month period. In combination with the lab-based tests of balance and visuomotor coordination, they represent a comprehensive assessment which should reveal any substantial deterioration associated with S3D

Methods

Participants and recruitment

Results

Discussion