The secret to transforming vision therapy? Eye tracking that feels like play

What if eye therapy felt more like leveling up in a game than ticking off a chore? With Tobii eye tracking, Optics Trainer makes that possible, turning routine exercises into something patients want to do.

Why do patients abandon some therapy programs, and what makes others stick? 

In vision therapy, as in many areas of health, the biggest challenge isn’t diagnosis or treatment design. It’s about making sure people actually complete the program. Low follow-through frustrates both clinicians and caregivers. Many tools promise to improve adherence, but what if the answer isn’t more structure?

Motivation and measurement 

The answer lies in designing therapeutic tools that are both enjoyable and measurable. 

We believe these two qualities are essential to building the next generation of health technology. Solutions that are fun and deliver clinical-grade feedback improve efficiency and reduce stress for clinicians and care teams. Optics Trainer, a long-time Tobii partner, is a great example. 

How a game developer found a calling in vision care 

Josh Li, the founder of Optics Trainer, didn’t originally set out to change healthcare. With a background in game design and software development, he discovered vision therapy almost by accident. When he learned about its reliance on paper-based tests and repetitive exercises, he saw an opportunity to make an impact and reached for a Tobii eye tracker already on his desk. 

The deeper he looked, the clearer the gap became. He found a field full of passionate practitioners and promising outcomes, but still reliant on static charts, pen and paper, and manual observation. It was clear that eye tracking could play a transformational role, not only in diagnosing oculomotor issues but also in building programs that patients would genuinely want to use. 

With that, Optics Trainer was born. 

Making therapy fun and clinically smart  

Optics Trainer is a vision therapy platform that transforms traditional eye exercises into engaging, gaze-controlled games. Designed for use in both clinical and home settings, it helps patients improve visual skills like focus, tracking, and coordination while giving clinicians real-time data to measure progress. 

But what sets Optics Trainer apart is how it uses Tobii’s technology to make therapy feel like play.   

On the motivation side: Optics Trainer incorporates eye-controlled games—from asteroid defense to gaze-guided maze navigation—that are fun, intuitive, and responsive. For children with amblyopia or adults recovering from brain injuries, these games replace therapeutic tedium with healing engagement. Patients don’t feel like they’re doing therapy. They feel like they’re playing. 

On the measurement side: Optics Trainer captures everything the user’s eyes do using Tobii eye tracking. The system records eye movements, fixations, reaction times, and visual tracking with high precision. Clinicians can then tailor treatment and show progress clearly, session by session.  

This dual focus on motivation and measurement is key. It means therapy becomes something to look forward to.  

Why Tobii technology made it possible 

As Josh built the first prototypes, Tobii was a natural fit. Tobii hardware offered clinical-level precision, and our SDK made integration easy, even for a small development team. 

In Josh’s words, working with Tobii meant he could "focus on building the experience," not the infrastructure. Eye tracking wasn’t just an input method; it became the foundation for both the interactivity and the analytics clinicians rely on. 

For me personally, one moment really stood out. The first time I tried one of Optics Trainer’s games, I used my eyes to blast on-screen targets. I completely forgot I was testing therapy software. That’s the level of immersion that turns practice into habit. 

From the clinic to the home 

Another key benefit of Optics Trainer’s design is portability. Tobii eye trackers are compact and consumer-ready, so they work equally well in clinics and homes. This bridges a long-standing gap in therapy continuity. 

At home, patients can continue their visual training on their own time. In clinics, providers use real-time data to explain conditions like strabismus or convergence issues, with clear, gaze-based evidence that families can see and understand. 

Curious about what gaze could unlock in your product? 

If you're building products in which behavior, precision, or personalization matter, eye tracking could be the key. Whether you're working in digital health, interactive training, or immersive media, integrating gaze as an input can elevate your user experience—and ground it in measurable outcomes. At Tobii, we’re proud to support developers like Optics Trainer, who are building engaging and scalable tools.