Patch Hours
The show plays only while the eye patch is on
A Fire TV app and a phone check for children patching for amblyopia. The cartoon pauses when the patch comes off, and the minutes the phone saw the patch on are counted for the clinic.
Why
- In 152 children whose patching was measured, mean compliance was 44% and on 42% of days no patch was worn (Wallace et al., 2013).
- A 2026 review puts adherence at 40 to 60% by week 6 and about 30% by week 12 (OEPF).
- Families keep a diary from memory. The TV is already the child's reward.
How it works
- Pair: the TV shows a code; the parent scans it.
- Teach: the phone learns this child's patch from a few seconds of “patch on”, “no patch” and “hand over the eye”, and shows held-out precision and recall.
- Watch: the TV plays only while the phone sees the patch; it pauses when the patch comes off or the phone stops reporting.
Limits
- An adherence aid for a prescribed patch. It does not treat amblyopia or change a prescription.
- Only on or off leaves the phone. No pictures are sent or stored.
- Tested on the Vega Virtual Device, not a physical Fire TV.