Nystagmus, a condition which I have, is a neurological condition that causes involuntary movement of the eyes. It can be acquired or Congenital, horizontal vertical, or even both. Affecting 7-8 million people worldwide, each person, even within their own family, has a unique type of Nystagmus with varying “rates” and direction. As acquired (later in life) Nystagmus has been treated or even cured using medical drugs, limited research has been placed on specifically treating the condition for individuals who are born with it. As an induvial who has congenital Nystagmus, I was not able to find solutions like people who had more common conditions like astigmatism and had to simply use magnification devices in places like school.

To find a technological and viable solution, I made two hypotheses: if an image/text oscillates at the same rate as someone’s eyes would, it would not only be “still” in their perspective, but it would also help them see clearer and as distance increases the speed that the image will move must increase as well.

I created a program that captivates what my vision of a treatment is, containing a default image of an eye chart, with selections to choose the different speeds and directions of Nystagmus. Last year, I had difficulty getting individuals who have this condition, only getting information from me and my sister who both have Nystagmus.

Using technology like the very recent Apple Vision Pro, combined with the concepts shown in my program, where their entire world would oscillate at the same rate their eyes would, individuals would not only be able to see better in the digital world, but also their entire reality would be seen much clearer, almost effectively eliminating Nystagmus altogether.

This year, I collected much more data from people across the world, developed glasses using the concepts shown in my program, improved my project overall, and worked with professionals such as my doctor to get information and gain insight.

My data proved both of my hypotheses to be correct, proving that oscillation at the same rate as Nystagmus helps improve vision while also demonstrating that as the distance between the individual and the screen is increased, so does the speed required to see.

Not only is the program, with its supporting data, showcasing a viable and realistic solution to help millions of individuals see better, but it also paves the way for future development in the creation of medicinal, cheaper, life-changing technology to help treat conditions we simply did not have solutions for in the past.