Editing Augmented reality (section)

===Virtual retinal display===
A [[virtual retinal display]] (VRD) is a type of theoretical display device that was in development at the [[University of Washington]]'s Human Interface Technology Laboratory under Dr. Thomas A. Furness III.<ref name="Viirre-1998">{{Cite journal|last1=Viirre|first1=E.|last2=Pryor|first2=H.|last3=Nagata|first3=S.|last4=Furness|first4=T. A.|date=1998|title=The virtual retinal display: a new technology for virtual reality and augmented vision in medicine|journal=Studies in Health Technology and Informatics|volume=50|issue=Medicine Meets virtual reality|pages=252–257|issn=0926-9630|pmid=10180549|doi=10.3233/978-1-60750-894-6-252}}</ref> With this technology, a display is scanned directly onto the [[retina]] of a viewer's eye. This results in bright images with high resolution and high contrast. The viewer sees what appears to be a conventional display floating in space.<ref>Tidwell, Michael; Johnson, Richard S.; Melville, David; Furness, Thomas A.[http://www.hitl.washington.edu/publications/p-95-1/ The Virtual Retinal Display – A Retinal Scanning Imaging System] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213134809/http://www.hitl.washington.edu/publications/p-95-1/ |date=13 December 2010 }}, Human Interface Technology Laboratory, University of Washington.</ref>

Several of tests were done to analyze the safety of the VRD.<ref name="Viirre-1998" /> In one test, patients with partial loss of vision—having either [[macular degeneration]] (a disease that degenerates the retina) or [[keratoconus]]—were selected to view images using the technology. In the macular degeneration group, five out of eight subjects preferred the [https://immersivestudio.co.uk/services/virtual-reality-services/ VRD] images to the [[cathode-ray tube]] (CRT) or paper images and thought they were better and brighter and were able to see equal or better resolution levels. The Keratoconus patients could all resolve smaller lines in several line tests using the VRD as opposed to their own correction. They also found the VRD images to be easier to view and sharper. As a result of these several tests, virtual retinal display is considered safe technology.

Virtual retinal display creates images that can be seen in ambient daylight and ambient room light. The VRD is considered a preferred candidate to use in a surgical display due to its combination of high resolution and high contrast and brightness. Additional tests show high potential for VRD to be used as a display technology for patients that have low vision.