# An enhancement to nGoggle: a VR Goggle for Structural and Functional assessment in Glaucoma

> **NIH NIH R43** · NGOGGLE, INC. · 2021 · $299,600

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Assessments of functional loss and of structural damage to the optic nerve are typical evaluations per-
formed in the diagnosis and monitoring of glaucoma. This proposal aims at developing the hardware system
that will allow acquisition of fundus photographs using the nGoggle, a portable Brain-Computer Interface (BCI)
which integrates a wearable, wireless, electroencephalogram (EEG) system and a head-mounted display to
monitor electrical brain activities associated with visual field stimulation. In a previous project, we developed the
nGoggle portable system for the assessment of visual function deficits in order to address limitations of standard
automated perimetry (SAP), a traditional but subjective visual field test. We compared the diagnostic accuracies
of the nGoggle and SAP in discriminating patients with glaucoma from healthy subjects and found that the BCI
performed at least as well, if not better than SAP, with the additional advantage of portability and objectivity.
 With rapid advancements in smartphone cameras, it is now possible to develop compact auto-focusing
fundus cameras and integrate them into our neuro-monitoring nGoggle. Recently we developed an approach
named Machine-to-Machine (M2M), a deep learning algorithm that was trained to analyze fundus photos and
predict quantitative measurements of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and neuroretinal rim provided by spectral
domain-optical coherence tomography (SDOCT), with high correlation and agreement with the original SDOCT
observations. This approach opens up the possibility of using simple fundus photographs to extract quantitative
information about neural damage in glaucoma. By combining functional assessment currently provided by the
nGoggle with structural assessment capability, this new system would result in a very unique device capable of
portable structural and functional assessment of optic nerve damage for a multitude of eye conditions, not limited
to glaucoma, such as age-related macular degeneration, retinal degenerations and non-glaucomatous optic neu-
ropathies.
 The specific aims of this Phase I SBIR project are (1) to incorporate a high-resolution auto-focusing
fundus camera to the nGoggle head-mounted display in full compliance with ophthalmic instrument safety stand-
ards and fundus camera functional standards, and (2) to demonstrate the ability of the nGoggle fundus camera
to capture high-quality optical nerve images from a model eye. Successful development of this system will enable
both structural and functional assessments of retinal conditions to be performed easily and inexpensively using
a portable device.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10253661
- **Project number:** 1R43EY032820-01
- **Recipient organization:** NGOGGLE, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** JOHN KAR-KIN ZAO
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $299,600
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-05-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10253661

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10253661, An enhancement to nGoggle: a VR Goggle for Structural and Functional assessment in Glaucoma (1R43EY032820-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10253661. Licensed CC0.

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