GlassesOff Inc. (OTCBB: GLSO) today announced that statistically significant interim results from a study commissioned by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) demonstrated significant improvements in critical visual functions of IAF pilots through the use of the GlassesOff mobile app. The data will be presented today at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. By using the GlassesOff mobile app, currently available on the App Store and Google Play, the IAF pilots in the study improved across multiple visual functions, including 35% improvement in visual acuity and 24% improvement in image processing speed.
The study was commissioned by the IAF and conducted in collaboration with the IAF's Israeli Aeromedical Unit (IAMU). Yuval Levy, MD, Vice Director of the Wolfson Medical Center in Israel and former Commander of the IAMU, is the principal investigator of the study. The primary objective of the study is improvement in near visual acuity of Air Force pilots using the GlassesOff mobile app, resulting in the enhancement of operations capabilities.
"I believe these effects will result in operational benefits for Air Force pilots," stated Dr. Levy. "By improving visual stimuli response rates and increasing visual field size, Air Force pilots would identify faster and react quicker to objects rapidly entering the pilots' visual field, such as missiles or other aircraft. In addition, they are expected to have better performance while using night vision goggles or helmet display."
Nimrod Madar, CEO of GlassesOff, stated, "We are very pleased to have collaborated with the Israeli Air Force, and the study results. Similar to top athletes, Air Force pilots typically have superior vision skills compared to age-matched civilians, making it that much more challenging to help them achieve significant visual acuity and image processing speed improvements. We believe that our current and future products will assist professional athletes and anyone else who is engaged in sports that require fast image processing speed, such as baseball, basketball, football, tennis, martial arts and others, to become better at their sport by helping them react faster and more accurately to challenging game situations."
Study participants, IAF pilots and co-pilots, were given extensive vision exams prior to beginning the GlassesOff program. Based on IAF protocol and the initial vision exams, study participants included pilots who had symptoms of age-related decline in near vision and would likely soon require reading glasses for flights, and pilots who were already required to wear reading glasses during flights.
The study participants engaged in three, 12-15 minute sessions a week of playing the GlassesOff app over a 2-4 month period. Thirty-two pilots and co-pilots completed the GlassesOff program, and 28 were given an extensive vision exam post-program completion. The study results demonstrated a significant 35% improvement in visual acuity (P<0.001) and 24% improvement in image processing speed (P=0.001).
More than 70% of the participants self-reported substantial changes in their near visual acuity and 60% self-reported improved reaction times.
This data will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Chicago, IL on October 20 at 12:30 pm CST.
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