OCULUS, Inc. (USA) announced that the Smartfield Perimeter, a compact visual field (VF) device, is making its extraterrestrial debut aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
How exciting! But first: Refresh me on OCULUS.
OCULUS is the U.S. subsidiary of OCULUS Optikgeräte GmbH, a German ophthalmic device manufacturer.
With U.S. headquarters based in Arlington, Washington, the company offers a broad product portfolio that includes some notable product lines in various clinical categories—including:
- Perimetry
- Read up on the U.S. launch of the Easyfield virtual reality (VR) headset—as well as an add-on dual testing feature added for more accurate and precede VF loss detection
Now to this product: the Smartfield Perimeter.
First introduced in 2018, the Smartfield Perimeter is a compact and portable VF analyzer for monitoring functional impairment in glaucoma.
Notably: It’s one of four models in OCULUS’s perimeter portfolio—the others are the Easyfield, Centerfield, and Twinfield—designed to perform screening (supra-threshold) and threshold perimetry.
- The difference between these four devices is the way each performs a fast thresholding test.
Tell me more about this specific model.
Based on an ultra-high liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, the VF device features an ergonomic, closed design and light-protected viewer (to enable exams in normally lit rooms)
- Height-adjustable double chin rest and measuring head
- Predefined programs for exam routines of the central VF or macular area
- Translucent lateral eye shields to eliminate the need for an eye patch during the exam
Talk about its diagnostic and testing capabilities.
The Smartfield is equipped with an enhanced Glaucoma Staging System (GSS2) and Glaucoma Staging Program (GSP) to offer extended support via single-field analysis, as well as:
- The predicting anatomy from thresholds (PATH) evaluation module predicts structure-function relationships
- A threshold noiseless trend (TNT) module performs progression analysis
As for testing: These include the SPARK strategy (a rapid VF testing method) and three others: threshold, fast threshold, and suprathreshold (rundown here).
- Also check out the OCULUS test patterns and how testing results are printed based on which testing strategy is used.
Nice! Now … why has the device been launched into space, exactly?
Chosen to board the ISSS for its small footprint and portability, the Smartfield is participating in what OCULUS refers to as “groundbreaking research” into a common ocular condition impacting astronauts:
- Spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS)
What this is: Ocular changes in the eye and overall vision that affect astronauts' vision during long-duration spaceflight.
Tell me more about SANS.
This is one of the most immediate physiological challenges associated with traveling outside of the Earth's gravity and into low levels of gravity (microgravity).
- Click here for details on its development.
Has it been clinically investigated before?
Oh yes. In fact, we reported on research published earlier this year in the IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology.
- The crux of those findings: Long-term space missions significantly alter ocular biomechanics and may serve as biomarkers of SANS disease progression.
Interesting … so how will the Smartfield be utilized for this new space research?
The device will reportedly assist researchers studying how microgravity impacts ocular health.
- As OCULUS noted: “Insights from this work may also benefit patients on Earth by advancing understanding of neuro-ocular conditions and improving clinical care.”
Amazing! And this isn’t the first ophthalmic device to be studied aboard the ISS, right?
It’s not! Looking at our coverage from over the last few years, we’ve reported on two other ophthalmic devices that have made their way out of this world:
- February 2024: Nanodropper’s bottle adapter, the first and only FDA-listed, volume-reducing adaptor for eye drop bottles
- March 2024: Oculogenex, Inc.’s OCLX-001, a novel investigational gene therapy for intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD)