Ben-DutkaThe world is getting all excited about 3D movie viewing and gaming and while it certainly sounds amazing, there may be some potential health risks involved, especially for younger children.
Those of you who plan to purchase the Nintendo 3DS for your kids or have a mind to bring 3D viewing into your home via a 3D HDTV and the PlayStation 3, should probably read this Audioholics article . You can form your own conclusions, but it talks about how humans utilize stereoscopic vision and how continued exposure to 3D video viewing could, theoretically, mess with that ability. Stereoscopic vision begins developing when we first start using our eyes, and most experts agree that it's complete by the time we turn six. That's when the nerves and muscles behind the eye are "fully formed and have learned to work in conjunction with the brain to respond automatically to visual cues that provide seamless depth of vision."
However, you may not know about strabismus:
"Unfortunately there’s a malaise in children that can prevent full stereopsis from developing, called strabismus. This condition is also called lazy-eye but has nothing to do with laziness; it’s an abnormal alignment of the eyes in which the eyes don’t focus on the same object and depth perception is compromised.
There is treatment for strabismus that involves helping a child’s nervous system to learn stereopsis, causing it to eventually become a natural response. But the ability to re-learn has its limitations, and treatment has been met with limited success beyond a certain age."
Recent medical evidence suggests that the nervous system "never stops learning and re-learing" so in other words, it's never too late to treat strabismus…while on the flip side of the coin, it's never too late to contract strabismus. The chances of contracting this illness lessens after the age of seven and – presumably – as we get older, but the risk may still be there. Just something to consider from a health standpoint.
Personally, I have no intention of over-indulging in 3D; I've always believed that might have some sort of backlash, like headaches or something.
Here's some interesting 3D related articles….
Toshiba designs "glasses free" 3D display
http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-features/49540-toshiba-designs-glasses-free-3d-display
Hitachi touts "glasses-free" 3D display
http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-features/49358-hitachi-touts-glasses-free-3d-display
Sharp announces four-color 3D LCD displays
http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-features/49327-sharp-announces-four-color-3d-lcd-displays
Monster's "universal" 3D shutter glasses aren't crazy expensive
http://www.tgdaily.com/consumer-electronics-brief/50317-monsters-universal-3d-shutter-glasses-arent-crazy-expensive
Disney signs 3D deal with Imax
http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-brief/50334-disney-signs-3d-deal-with-imax
Well, I'm not sure if 3D will help or hinder some of those gamers with lazy eye, but here's a doctor who used an innovative way to help this one boy, he used gaming to do it.
UK Boy's Eyesight Saved By Mario Kart June 25, 2010
At the age of 4 Ben Michaels was diagnosed with amblyopia, commonly known as "lazy eye syndrome."
The condition caused the vision in his right eye to gradually decrease over time. If it had gone untreated, Ben would have completely lost the vision in his right eye.
But a clever doctor came up with a unique therapy to help Ben strengthen the vision in his right eye gradually over time using a Nintendo DS, Mario Kart and an eye patch.
That therapy saw Ben's vision in his right eye go from "near blindness" to an improvement of "250 percent."
Read the full story here:
http://www.gamepolitics.com/2010/06/25/uk-boy039s-eyesight-saved-mario-kart
Skeptical Sony questions Nintendo 3DS announcement
http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-features/49053-skeptical-sony-questions-nintendo-3ds-announcement
***(Related to Sony's above story)****
NVIDIA unconnected with 3DS
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/nvidia-unconnected-with-3ds-blog-entry
Report: Nintendo 3DS is Tegra-less
http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-features/50127-report-nintendo-3ds-is-tegra-less
Read the audioholics article and laughed. First, they only assumed that strabismus can be learned from stereoscopic tech. First rule of science is never assume anything.
It's sensationalist nonsense full of allusions to conspiracys.
Like all smart pseudo-science, they place enough real science around their claims to make it appear that their claims are backed up by science.
I think i'd rather take my health advice from qualified professionals and respected medical health journals. When the Lancet has an article on the dangers of stereoscopic tech, i'll listen. Until then, i'll remain skeptical of this sort of nonsense.
Unfortunately there are (as far as I am aware) no independent medical trials of stereoscopic 3D either for games or movies.
who wants to wear geeky 3d glasses the whole day any way
who wants to wear geeky 3d glasses the whole day any way
who wants to wear geeky 3d glasses the whole day any way