A haploscope is an optical device for presenting one image to one eye and another image to the other eye. The word derives from two Greek roots: haploieides, single and skopeo, to view. The word is often used interchangeably with stereoscope, but it is more general than that. A stereoscope is a type of haploscope, but not vice versa. The word has more currency in the medical field than elsewhere, where it refers to instruments designed to test binocular vision. These instruments include Worth's amblyoscope and the synoptophore. [1]
The human eye is an organ which reacts to light and pressure. As a sense organ, the mammalian eye allows vision. Human eyes help to provide a three dimensional, moving image, normally coloured in daylight. Rod and cone cells in the retina allow conscious light perception and vision including color differentiation and the perception of depth. The human eye can differentiate between about 10 million colors and is possibly capable of detecting a single photon.
A stereoscope is a device for viewing a stereoscopic pair of separate images, depicting left-eye and right-eye views of the same scene, as a single three-dimensional image.
Medicine is the science and practice of establishing the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Contemporary medicine applies biomedical sciences, biomedical research, genetics, and medical technology to diagnose, treat, and prevent injury and disease, typically through pharmaceuticals or surgery, but also through therapies as diverse as psychotherapy, external splints and traction, medical devices, biologics, and ionizing radiation, amongst others.
Commonly haploscopes employ front-surfaced mirrors placed at different angles close to the eyes to reflect the images into the eyes. Reputedly the largest haploscope, with images of over a meter (in fact, 4 feet) square and a viewing distance for each eye of nearly five meters (16 feet), was constructed by Vaegan in about 1975 to research stereoacuity. [2] The large images allowed very small retinal disparities to be presented.
A mirror is an object that reflects light in such a way that, for incident light in some range of wavelengths, the reflected light preserves many or most of the detailed physical characteristics of the original light, called specular reflection. This is different from other light-reflecting objects that do not preserve much of the original wave signal other than color and diffuse reflected light, such as flat-white paint.
Esotropia is a form of strabismus in which one or both eyes turns inward. The condition can be constantly present, or occur intermittently, and can give the affected individual a "cross-eyed" appearance. It is the opposite of exotropia and usually involves more severe axis deviation than esophoria. Esotropia is sometimes erroneously called "lazy eye", which describes the condition of amblyopia—a reduction in vision of one or both eyes that is not the result of any pathology of the eye and cannot be resolved by the use of corrective lenses. Amblyopia can, however, arise as a result of esotropia occurring in childhood: In order to relieve symptoms of diplopia or double vision, the child's brain will ignore or "suppress" the image from the esotropic eye, which when allowed to continue untreated will lead to the development of amblyopia. Treatment options for esotropia include glasses to correct refractive errors, the use of prisms and/or orthoptic exercises and/or eye muscle surgery. The term is from Greek eso meaning "inward" and trope meaning "a turning".
In biology, binocular vision is a type of vision in which an animal having two eyes is able to perceive a single three-dimensional image of its surroundings. Neurological researcher Manfred Fahle has stated six specific advantages of having two eyes rather than just one:
Stereoscopy is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word stereoscopy derives from Greek, Modern στερεός (stereos), meaning 'firm, solid', and σκοπέω (skopeō), meaning 'to look, to see'. Any stereoscopic image is called a stereogram. Originally, stereogram referred to a pair of stereo images which could be viewed using a stereoscope.
Depth perception is the visual ability to perceive the world in three dimensions (3D) and the distance of an object. Depth sensation is the corresponding term for animals, since although it is known that animals can sense the distance of an object, it is not known whether they "perceive" it in the same subjective way that humans do.
Orthoptics is a profession allied to eye care profession whose primary emphasis is the diagnosis and non-surgical management of strabismus, amblyopia and eye movement disorders. The word orthoptics comes from the Greek words ὀρθός orthos, "straight" and ὀπτικός optikοs, "relating to sight" and much of the practice of orthoptists concerns refraction and muscular eye control. Orthoptists are trained professionals who specialize in orthoptic treatment. With specific training, in some countries orthoptists may be involved in monitoring of some forms of eye disease, such as glaucoma, cataract screening and diabetic retinopathy
An autostereogram is a single-image stereogram (SIS), designed to create the visual illusion of a three-dimensional (3D) scene from a two-dimensional image. In order to perceive 3D shapes in these autostereograms, one must overcome the normally automatic coordination between accommodation (focus) and horizontal vergence. The illusion is one of depth perception and involves stereopsis: depth perception arising from the different perspective each eye has of a three-dimensional scene, called binocular parallax.
Diplopia, commonly known as double vision, is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object that may be displaced horizontally, vertically, diagonally, or rotationally in relation to each other. It is usually the result of impaired function of the extraocular muscles (EOMs), where both eyes are still functional but they cannot turn to target the desired object. Problems with EOMs may be due to mechanical problems, disorders of the neuromuscular junction, disorders of the cranial nerves that stimulate the muscles, and occasionally disorders involving the supranuclear oculomotor pathways or ingestion of toxins.
An eye examination is a series of tests performed by an ophthalmologist, optometrist, or orthoptist, optician (UK), assessing vision and ability to focus on and discern objects, as well as other tests and examinations pertaining to the eyes. Health care professionals often recommend that all people should have periodic and thorough eye examinations as part of routine primary care, especially since many eye diseases are asymptomatic.
Random-dot stereogram (RDS) is stereo pair of images of random dots which when viewed with the aid of a stereoscope, or with the eyes focused on a point in front of or behind the images, produces a sensation of depth, with objects appearing to be in front of or behind the display level.
Stereopsis is a term that is most often used to refer to the perception of depth and 3-dimensional structure obtained on the basis of visual information deriving from two eyes by individuals with normally developed binocular vision. Because the eyes of humans, and many animals, are located at different lateral positions on the head, binocular vision results in two slightly different images projected to the retinas of the eyes. The differences are mainly in the relative horizontal position of objects in the two images. These positional differences are referred to as horizontal disparities or, more generally, binocular disparities. Disparities are processed in the visual cortex of the brain to yield depth perception. While binocular disparities are naturally present when viewing a real 3-dimensional scene with two eyes, they can also be simulated by artificially presenting two different images separately to each eye using a method called stereoscopy. The perception of depth in such cases is also referred to as "stereoscopic depth".
Vision therapy (VT) is an umbrella term for a variety of treatments based around eyes exercises. The treatments aim to treat convergence disorder – for which there is supporting evidence – and a range of neurological, educational and spatial difficulties – uses which are not supported by good evidence.
Exotropia is a form of strabismus where the eyes are deviated outward. It is the opposite of esotropia and usually involves more severe axis deviation than exophoria. People with exotropia often experience crossed diplopia. Intermittent exotropia is a fairly common condition. "Sensory exotropia" occurs in the presence of poor vision. Infantile exotropia is seen during the first year of life, and is less common than "essential exotropia" which usually becomes apparent several years later.
An eye care professional (ECP) is an individual who provides a service related to the eyes or vision. It is any healthcare worker involved in eye care, from one with a small amount of post-secondary training to practitioners with a doctoral level of education.
Retinal correspondence is the inherent relationship between paired retinal visual cells in the two eyes. Images from one object stimulate both cells, which transmit the information to the brain, permitting a single visual impression localized in the same direction in space.
Stereoscopic acuity, also stereoacuity, is the smallest detectable depth difference that can be seen in binocular vision.
A cheiroscope is an optical device consisting of a viewing instrument equipped with a drawing pad, with the viewing instrument set up as a haploscope that blends a left and/or right image into view over the drawing.
Instrument myopia, sometimes called microscope myopia, is a form of myopia that occurs when someone is looking into an optical instrument such as a microscope. The person focusses his or her eyes closer than needed for the image produced by the instrument.
In ophthalmology, horror fusionis is a condition in which the eyes have an unsteady deviation, with the extraocular muscles performing spasm-like movements that continuously shift the eyes away from the position in which they would be directed to the same point in space, giving rise to diplopia. Even when the double vision images are made to nearly overlap using optical means such as prisms, the irregular movements prevent binocular fusion. The name horror fusionis arises from the notion that the brain is, or at least appears to be, actively preventing binocular fusion.
Bagolini striated glasses test, or BSGT, is a subjective clinical test to detect the presence or extent of binocular functions and is generally performed by an Optometrist(O.D) or orthoptist or ophthalmologist. It is mainly used in strabismus clinics. Through this test, suppression, microtropia, diplopia and manifest deviations can be noted. However this test should always be used in conjunction with other clinical tests, such as Worth 4 dot test, Cover test, Prism cover test and Maddox rod to come to a diagnosis.