News

New “In-Focus 3D” system developed for medical use – and to avoid gaming console illness!

(7 April 2011)

Durham University and the University of California, Berkeley have been working together on a new system of 3D vision which will avoid the headaches and sickness caused to some 3D gaming console players and cinema goers. It can also be used in more effective, non-intrusive surgery and can even help in the more efficient diagnosis of disease.

 In-Focus 3D has been developed jointly by Durham's Biophysical Sciences Institute (BSI) working with colleagues from Berkeley.   

BSI's Dr Gordon Love says:"With the conventional 3D we currently have in new 3D gaming consoles and cinemas, headaches, tired eyes, blurred vision and even nausea can occur. This is because of what we call the "vergence-accommodation conflict". When our eyes look at an object, they must first aim towards that point - referred to as vergence - as well as focus on the object - or accommodate - in the same way a camera would."  

"But with conventional 3D images, although the light from the image comes from the same place - like a cinema screen or gaming console - the images appear to jump out of the screen. This creates a conflict because the point where the eyes focus is fixed at the screen, while the eyes converge to look at the image elsewhere. This is what causes the discomfort for some."  

Professor Marty Banks from Berkeley, currently working at Durham University, says: "In-Focus 3D gets around those problems by having a fast switchable lens synchronised to the images so that focus cues are nearly perfect. As the use of conventional 3D spreads further into video games and into television, the long-term impact of such visual effects remain uncertain, especially if people begin spending multiple hours in front of a screen at home compared with just an hour or two in a cinema."

In-Focus 3D also has a lot of potential for applications such as surgery: true 3-D images from inside the body, meaning no invasive surgery.

Dr Love adds: "This is invaluable because inside the body, there's no natural light, no right angles, none of the reference points we take for granted. In-Focus 3D combats those drawbacks and means as well as having an accurate image of what's happening in the body, there's no need for as much invasive surgery, making it much less traumatic for the patient"    

Its creators also envisage In-Focus 3D giving more efficient diagnosis of medical conditions and illnesses. And it has an intriguing potential use for geologists, who'll be able to look inside a fossil still embedded within a fragile layer of sediment without disturbing it.