The Vision Laboratory

Vision provides up to 80% of the information we use to perceive and interact with the world. It involves not only the act of seeing but also the brain’s ability to interpret visual input. Vision supports other critical systems, including those involved in cognition and mobility. When the visual system is impaired, it can significantly disrupt everyday activities such as reading, driving, working, and participating in recreation, ultimately reducing quality of life.

Vision requires cooperation between the eye and the brain, which are interconnected by the optic nerve.
Light enters the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina. Photoreceptor cells then convert this light into electrical signals which travel through the optic nerve to the brain's visual centers, including the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe. Here, these signals are processed and integrated to form our visual perception.

Visual impairment and dysfunction can be caused by diseases and injuries that affect the eye, the brain, or the optic nerve that connects them. Biomechanics play a significant role in these conditions. For example, glaucoma, a chronic and progressive eye disease, occurs when elevated intraocular pressure damages the optic nerve, leading to vision loss. Similarly, traumatic brain injury (TBI) can lead to visual impairment through biomechanical forces that damage the brain areas responsible for visual processing and perception, even in the absence of direct eye damage.

The Vision Laboratory aims to understand the role of biomechanics in visual impairment and dysfunction.
Our mission is to expedite the creation of innovative prevention methods, diagnostic tools, and treatment options
to combat visual challenges. Our research focuses on a spectrum of conditions that affect vision through the eye,
the brain, or the optic nerve connecting them, including:

• Myopia, glaucoma, and the complex interactions between the two 

• Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS)

  • Previously known as Visual Impairment and Intracranial Pressure (VIIP) syndrome

• Blast-induced ocular traumatic injuries

• Vision defects related to TBI