XR Review: A Comprehensive Analysis of Visual Function Testing and Gamification in Extended Reality Environments

Spatial Computing has been a keen research area for innovations in healthcare due to its perceived virtual world that replicates the real world. The interactions, dimensions, physics can all be based on naturalistic principles. Extended Reality (XR) is a key element of spatial computing that includes Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR) and Augmented Reality (AR). Due to the potential of creation of realistic virtual world, healthcare applications that are gamified have come into light. Visual function testing is one of the applications which has a scope for designing a gamified testing in XR for the users’ portable eye testing at comfort of their home. However, a significant gap exists in the designing and understanding of these applications. This study examines 59 research papers discussing visual function testing and gamification in XR. The corpus has been reviewed for the devices used, accuracy obtained compared to gold standards, usability and game mechanics. Based on these, this review discusses the design consideration needed in developing a gamified XR visual function testing application to enhance the accuracy and engagement of the testing in the users.