Do you have chronic headaches, burning or watery eyes, or do you fall asleep easily while reading? These symptoms of visual fatigue can be the manifestation of oculomotor disorders, that is to say difficulties of the two eyes to work well together. Eyesoft Companycreated in 2018 by Audrey Persillon and Thomas Didier, both orthoptists, has been deploying a new tool for detecting these disorders since the first half of 2023, in particular with opticians from Bordelaise de lunetterie. The test is offered free of charge and it is not subject to the obligation to buy glasses from this optician.
The two orthoptists, specialists in the screening and treatment of functional disorders of binocular vision and ocular motricity, have developed a test that allows a client to be assessed for the first time, in the event of a complaint, in just a few minutes. If the test shows an imbalance, the client is advised to consult an orthoptist for a more complete assessment. He will eventually offer him rehabilitation.
A free test of a few minutes
“Take off your glasses and you can stay seated,” says Vincent Roques, optician, manager of a Bordelaise eyewear store in Bordeaux, to Letitia, a 47-year-old customer who wears progressive lenses. He equips it with a virtual reality headset that will allow him to carry out a test in just a few minutes. He is asked to determine different shapes, to stare at a star while one of his eyes then the other is hidden. “I have the impression of cross-eyed”, testifies the forties. Verdict only three minutes later: the harmony between the two eyes is not perfect. “We have a small explanation of why 3D cinema does not suit you”, comments Audrey Persillon. Letitia cannot follow a session in 3D, it immediately makes her nauseous.
The perception of vision comfort is very personal, hence the interest for the optician to discuss upstream with his client on his feelings. “The device is an aid to the early identification of oculomotor imbalances, specifies the co-founder of Eyesoft. It is useful for anticipating problems adapting to glasses, especially when wearing progressive lenses from the age of 45. The eyes must work perfectly together so that there are no symptoms. “This upstream screening strengthens the links between the three players in the visual sector (ophthalmologists, orthoptists and opticians)”, adds Mathieu Perguihem, commercial director of Bordelaise de lunetterie.
Overstressed near vision
In our contemporary societies, near vision is increasingly required, moreover on highlighted screens. “We don’t have a visual system that is made for that”, underlines Audrey Persillon, who recalls that more than 10 million French people suffer from oculomotor disorders, according to the latest figures. These date from before Covid-19, the trend having only been able to increase since then. The Eyesoft test offered at the optician’s, which all French people will see at least once in their life after 45, is a good way to identify the problem in a massive way. “There are, in my opinion, more than 20% of our customers to whom we must offer this solution for the benefit of their visual comfort”, estimates the commercial director of Bordelaise de lunetterie.
On a national scale, 550 practitioners (offices and stores combined) are equipped with the various Eyesoft solutions, since there is also specific software for rehabilitation. The helmet opens up the possibility of telecare since it can be loaned to the patient for sessions from home. Rehabilitation, which involves muscular work, is effective for about five years.