Cognitive Function Test via Eye Tracking Without Pupil Calibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Concussion detection systems are time-consuming, require specialized facilities, and are susceptible to manipulation, making them inefficient and unreliable for immediate diagnosis.
Innovation Solution
A rapid cognitive function test using a smooth eye pursuit method without calibrating pupil position to gaze location, performed on a computer screen with a visual cue tracing a lemniscate pattern, and analyzed using an eye camera and integrated circuit to assess cognitive function.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If written examinations are used for concussion detection, then cognitive function can be assessed, but the testing is time-consuming and susceptible to manipulation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces written examinations (mechanical/cognitive task) with eye-tracking technology (optical measurement system). The eye-tracking system automatically records pupil position and gaze location without requiring the patient to complete written tasks, thereby eliminating the time-consuming nature of written exams while preventing manipulation since eye movements are involuntary and objectively measured.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary calibration process that establishes a mathematical relationship between pupil position and gaze location. This intermediary step (calibration data) allows the system to translate raw eye-tracking data into meaningful cognitive function metrics, resolving the contradiction by providing a quick yet reliable assessment mechanism that neither written exams nor direct eye-gaze mapping alone could achieve.
2Measurement precision
If specialized equipment like CAT scan or MRI is used for concussion detection, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but device complexity and facility requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential measurement function from complex medical imaging equipment (CAT scan, MRI) and implements it through a simplified eye-tracking system. By focusing solely on measuring pupil position and gaze location through a camera and computer, the system achieves sufficient diagnostic accuracy without the bulky infrastructure, expensive equipment, and specialized facilities required by traditional imaging methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs inexpensive, readily available components (standard camera, computer screen, software algorithms) to replace expensive, complex medical imaging equipment. The eye-tracking system uses off-the-shelf technology that can be deployed in ordinary settings without requiring specialized facilities, thereby maintaining measurement precision while dramatically reducing device complexity and cost.
3Measurement precision
If calibration of pupil position to gaze location is performed, then eye-tracking accuracy is improved, but manipulation during calibration can skew results
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs calibration as a preliminary action before the actual cognitive function testing. During this preliminary phase, the system establishes the relationship between pupil position and gaze location by having the patient look at known screen positions. This preliminary calibration creates a reference framework that enables accurate measurement during the subsequent test, resolving the contradiction by separating the calibration function from the measurement function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the eye-tracking process into distinct phases: calibration phase and testing phase. During calibration, the system collects data to establish the pupil-gaze relationship. During testing, the system uses this established relationship to measure cognitive function without requiring further calibration interactions. This segmentation prevents manipulation because the critical calibration relationship is established once under controlled conditions, and subsequent measurements automatically apply this relationship without requiring additional patient cooperation that could be manipulated.
Data Source
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AI summary
Cognitive function testing. At least some of example embodiments are methods including performing a cognitive function test on a patient without calibrating pupil position of the patient. The performing may include: causing a visual cue on a computer screen in front of the patient to move in a predetermined pattern; reading frames from an eye camera that captures images of an eye of the patient while the visual cue moves on the computer screen and the patient visually tracks the visual cue; determining pupil position within the frames; correcting offsets between the stimulus data and the pupil position data; translating the pupil position data from a coordinate space of the eye camera to a coordinate space of the stimulus data; and generating a test score being the cumulative distance between the stimulus data and pupil position data for each corresponding point in time.