A fruitful year with the ViSymulation team

I had a wonderful time this year with the ViSym AR team led by Prof Joseph Chan at HKU, creating an AR visual symptom simulator and accompanying educational tasks, reaching out to different parts of the community in Hong Kong.

Leading and assisting in classes and events for Orbis staff and volunteers, secondary school teachers and students, elderly and their caregivers gave me a new perspective in medicine: healing begins when we see the living, breathing person behind each patient and diagnosis.

“Now I finally understand why my husband quit his lifelong passion and career in taxi-driving.” An elderly woman whispered as she hesitantly explored her now-distorted surroundings with AR age-related macular degeneration.

To us, symptoms may be a list of criteria to tick to reach a diagnosis and treatment plan: shadows, floaters, and flashes point towards retinal detachment and potential surgery. To patients and their families, symptoms are stories of fear of disease, concern over the burden of treatment, and accepting and overcoming physical limitations.

The AR system does not only simulate physical visual impairments, but it also even more so illuminates the invisible burdens patients and their caregivers carry.

Behind every diagnosis is a life in turbulent waters. To truly heal, we must look behind the electronic health record to reach the heart of every patient and their family.

On a brighter note, I had the joy of running the AR macular degeneration and cataracts bouncy maze for the Orbis Walk for Sight 2025 today at Tai Tam Country Park! I hope everyone enjoyed this meaningful and energetic day!