Scott Xiao

Amblyopia, the leading cause of vision loss in children, is usually treated by having patients wear a patch over the stronger eye to stimulate the weaker one. Despite how prevalent the condition is, affecting 3% of children, it can be hard to get kids to comply with wearing the eye patch, partly because of social stigma. Scott Xiao, 24, has won FDA approval for an alternative: a digital therapy aimed at retraining the brain to process images from both eyes properly. It involves presenting popular TV shows slightly differently to each eye via a virtual-reality headset—making it the first FDA-approved VR therapeutic for any condition.