Vision Therapy Products

For persons with motor impairment the Dynavision D2™ can be used to increase active upper extremity range of motion and coordination, muscular and physical endurance and improve motor planning.

Originally designed as a device to improve the visuomotor skills of athletes, the Dynavision™ 2000 Light Training Board has been adapted to provide the same training benefits to persons whose visual and motor function has been compromised by injury or disease. For persons with visual and visuomotor impairment the apparatus is used to train compensatory search strategies, improve oculomotor skills such as localization, fixation, gaze shift, and tracking, increase peripheral visual awareness, visual attention and anticipation, and improve eye-hand coordination and visuomotor reaction time. For persons with motor impairment it can be used to increase active upper extremity range of motion and coordination, muscular and physical endurance and improve motor planning. It has been successfully used to improve function in children and adults with limitations from stroke, head injury, amputation, spinal cord injury and orthopedic injury. Currently there are over 600 units in rehabilitation hospitals across the United States.

The design of the Dynavision™ board in terms of size, button configuration, and number of program options enables the device to be used with a variety of age groups and rehabilitation conditions. The simplicity and straightforwardness of the response required (striking the button) enables persons with limited comprehension to understand the demands of the task. The ability to limit presentation to the inner ring of lights, coupled with the ability to lower the position of the board allows it to be used by persons with restricted upper extremity range of motion, wheelchair users, and children. Although precision in the striking of the button is required, the button can be struck with any part of the hand such as the palm, fingers, or back of the hand. This allows persons with limited prehension due to conditions such as quadriplegia, hemiplegia or amputation to successfully work the board.

Presentation of exercise drills as games of skill makes the Dynavision™ exercises fun while challenging users to give their best effort. Ability to select different speeds of stimulus presentation from the self-pacing of mode A to the automatic presentation of Mode B enables use with persons with varying speeds of information processing. The Board in Mode A can be used to facilitate visual scanning and increase visual reaction time in persons who have difficulty executing adequate search patterns due to oculomotor impairment, visual inattention and neglect, and hemianopsia. Mode B and the Flash Option can be used to challenge high functioning persons who must demonstrate rapid information processing and mental flexibility in order to resume demanding tasks such as driving, engaging in sports activities and work. Varying the length of the presentation from 30 seconds to 240 seconds allows the therapist to prevent fatigue in persons with limited scanning ability and also challenge sustained attention in persons who have difficulty maintaining vigilance. Both Modes A and B can be used by persons with upper extremity limitations to increase active range of motion and coordination.

The most unique and important contribution of the Dynavision™ to rehabilitation is its capacity to challenge the peripheral visual system. Peripheral visual attention is needed to protect an individual from potential dangers in the environment, and speed in searching the peripheral visual field is critical to safety in environments involving rapid visual changes such as is encountered in driving. The size of the Dynavision™ board automatically elicits a combination of head turning and eye movement which is the natural scanning strategy initiated when attending to peripheral visual stimuli. The light buttons also are identical which eliminates the need for discrete identification and instead elicits the more automatic response of visual localization which is compatible with the function of peripheral attention. This capacity enables the Dynavision™ to challenge the peripheral attention skills needed for driving, and orientation to and negotiation of the environment at a level few clinical activities can achieve.

Effectiveness of Dynavision™ Training:

Because of the relatively recent introduction of Dynavision™ into rehabilitation centers, the published research literature supporting the use of the apparatus in rehabilitation is limited. Klavora et al, have published several articles on the use of the Dynavision™ (Klavora and Warren, 1998, Klavora, Gaskovski & Forsyth, 1995, Klavora, Gaskovski, Heslegrave, Quinn, &Young, 1995, Klavora, Gaskovski,1994), including an article demonstrating the effectiveness of the device in rehabilitation of driving performance in persons post stroke (Klavora et al, 1995).

Join the growing number of hospitals that are using Dynavision™ as the rehabilitation product of choice!