Photos courtesy of Smart Optometry
Study investigates impact of AmblyoPlay therapy system
Dec. 22, 2025
Smart Optometry announced that its digital vision therapy platform AmblyoPlay has been clinically proven effective. This follows the publication of the first peer-reviewed scientific study evaluating its therapeutic impact in pediatric anisometropic amblyopia. The six-month controlled clinical study demonstrated significant improvements across visual acuity, stereopsis, oculomotor function and motor coordination in children aged 7 to 13 years.
Pilot Study
AmblyoPlay, a gamified, app-based multimodal therapy system, was evaluated in a prospective pilot study conducted at Istanbul Medipol University. Over a six-month period, children performing daily home-based dichoptic training showed clinically meaningful gains in visual acuity, binocular depth perception, eye-movement control and hand-eye coordination. Meanwhile, mentioned outcomes were not observed in the age-matched control group. These findings provide the first published clinical evidence supporting the efficacy of AmblyoPlay as a digital therapeutic tool for amblyopia management.
Amblyopia, particularly its anisometropic subtype, arises from unequal refractive error between the eyes. It leads to chronic cortical suppression and impaired binocular integration. Traditional treatments such as patching often face challenges including limited effectiveness in older children, low compliance and a narrow focus on monocular acuity. AmblyoPlay addresses these limitations by applying dichoptic stimulation and adaptive, game-based multimodal exercises.
The exercises engage both eyes simultaneously while also challenging visual-motor and oculomotor systems. This modern, child-friendly approach aims to rehabilitate not only acuity, but also binocular function, motor coordination and broader sensorimotor integration, areas increasingly recognized as affected in amblyopia.
Notable results
The study enrolled 29 children (14 undergoing AmblyoPlay therapy and 15 controls) and assessed outcomes at baseline, 1, 3 and 6 months.
- Visual Acuity: Mean BCVA in the amblyopic eye improved from 0.23 to 0.08 logMAR, equivalent to approximately 1.5 lines on a logMAR chart.
- Stereopsis: Median stereoacuity improved from 300 arcsec to 45 arcsec, indicating a substantial gain in binocular depth perception.
- Oculomotor Function: Significant reductions in saccadic latency and increases in smooth pursuit and optokinetic gain demonstrated enhanced oculomotor control.
- Motor Coordination: Performance on BOT-2 upper-limb coordination and balance subtests improved significantly over six months, showing functional benefits beyond visual outcomes.
- Controls: No meaningful changes occurred in the non-treated group, confirming that improvements were attributable to the intervention.
Collectively, the study shows that AmblyoPlay strengthens multiple visual and sensorimotor pathways, offering a comprehensive therapeutic profile distinct from conventional amblyopia treatments.
Play-Treatment Approach Has Impact
This study marks an important milestone: the first scientific, peer-reviewed clinical evidence evaluating AmblyoPlay in a real-world pediatric population. By demonstrating improvements in visual, binocular, oculomotor and motor domains, the findings support a paradigm shift toward integrative, multimodal rehabilitation for amblyopia. This is especially true for school-aged children who have traditionally been considered less responsive to treatment.
Matic Vogrič, CEO at Smart Optometry, said, “This independent clinical validation is a major milestone for us, confirming that AmblyoPlay is not only engaging but clinically effective. Thousands of real-user success stories are now reinforced by rigorous scientific evidence. It’s a strong endorsement of our team’s work and our mission moving forward.”
About AmblyoPlay
AmblyoPlay was created in 2018 and has since been used by tens of thousands of families worldwide. With these newly published clinical results, the program’s role as a validated digital therapy becomes even more firmly established, paving the way for broader adoption across optometry, ophthalmology, and vision-therapy practices. “These findings validate our scientific approach and confirm we are moving in the right strategic direction,” Vogrič adds. “They enhance our credibility with clinical and academic partners and open opportunities for new research and collaboration. This foundation will guide future development and help us deliver accessible, high-quality eye-care solutions globally.”
Read the full study findings here.
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