Stroboscopic Eyewear Helps Pro Hockey Players

“Professional hockey players who trained with special eyewear that only allowed them to see action intermittently showed significant improvement in practice drills, according to a Duke University study with the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes,” reports Duke Today. “The eyewear features lenses that switch between transparent and opaque, producing stroboscopic visual conditions, much like a strobe light in your favorite dance club. Earlier research using the stroboscopic eyewear during training showed improved vision, visual attention, and ability to anticipate the timing of moving items. But the small pilot study with Hurricanes players is the first to directly explore whether those effects can improve sports performance. The study appears online in the November-December issue of Athletic Training & Sports Health Care. http://bit.ly/18o1DPE.” Read mnore.

Stroboscopic Training Improves Performance, Says Duke U. Study

Stroboscopic training, performing a physical activity while using eyewear that simulates a strobe-like experience, reportedly increases visual short-term memory retention, and the effects last for 24 hours. Participants in a Duke University study engaged in physical activities, such as throwing a baseball,  while using either specialized eyewear that limits vision to only brief snapshots or while using eyewear with clear lenses that provides uninterrupted vision. Participants from the Duke community, including varsity athletes, completed a computer-based visual memory test before and after the physical activities. The study found that participants who trained with the strobe eyewear gained a boost in visual memory abilities. Participants completed a memory test that required them to note the identity of eight letters of the alphabet that were briefly displayed on a computer screen. After a variable delay, participants were asked to recall one of the eight letters. On easy-level trials, the recall prompt came immediately after the letters disappeared, but on more difficult trials, the prompt came as late as 2.5 seconds following the display. Because participants did not know which letter they would be asked to recall, they had to retain all of the items in memory. Read more about the study.

Duke Coming Up with Stroboscopic Eyewear

"Duke psychologists have been testing a new kind of eyewear that creates stroboscopic vision," according to a post on WRALTechWire. "The glasses block a person's view up to six times a second. The researchers say they need more data, but they did measure some slight changes in visual perception. The ultimate goal is to increase coordination for wearers." Read more.