Eye-Tracking Brain Function Evaluation for Accurate Cognitive Screening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for evaluating cognitive disorder and brain dysfunction, such as those using touch panels, suffer from inaccuracies due to fortuitous right answers or operational errors, making it difficult to achieve high accuracy in evaluations.
Innovation Solution
An evaluation device and method that utilizes image data acquisition to detect the point of gaze of a subject, sets route and target areas on a display, and calculates evaluation data based on the presence time and order of gaze shifts along specific routes, using a display controller, determination unit, and evaluation unit to enhance accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a touch panel operation method is used for evaluation, then the evaluation can be performed with simple equipment, but the evaluation accuracy deteriorates due to fortuitous right answers or operational errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical touch panel operation with an optical detection system using eye tracking technology. The determination unit detects the subject's line of sight and determines presence in target areas based on gaze position, eliminating the need for manual touch panel operations and thereby preventing operational errors and fortuitious right answers while maintaining equipment simplicity.
2Device complexity
If manual operation on touch panel is required, then the device structure can be simplified, but the reliability of evaluation deteriorates due to human error
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the subject's own eye movements as the input mechanism. The subject naturally gazes at targets without needing to manually operate the device, and the eye tracking system automatically records and analyzes these gaze patterns. This self-service approach eliminates manual operation errors while keeping the device structure relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces eye tracking technology as an intermediary between the subject and the evaluation system. Instead of direct manual operation, the subject's gaze is captured by the image acquisition device and processed by the determination unit, which acts as an intermediary to translate gaze position into evaluation data, thereby eliminating direct human error in operation.
3Ease of operation
If traditional cognitive evaluation methods are used, then the evaluation process can be simple, but the ability to detect early cognitive disorder deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional manual cognitive evaluation methods with eye tracking-based detection. By monitoring the subject's gaze patterns, presence time in target areas, and number of gazes, the system objectively measures cognitive function without requiring complex manual test administration, enabling early detection while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides objective feedback through quantitative analysis of eye movement data. The determination unit calculates presence time and gaze frequency, which serve as feedback indicators of cognitive function. This objective feedback mechanism enhances early detection capability while keeping the evaluation process straightforward.
Data Source
AI summary
An evaluation device includes an image data acquisition unit that acquires image data on eyeballs of a subject, a point-of-gaze detector that detects positional data on a point of gaze of the subject based on the image data, a display controller that causes a display unit to display a plurality of routes that connect a start point and an end point and a plurality of target subjects that are arranged along the routes, an area setting unit that sets a route area corresponding to each of the routes and a target area corresponding to each of the target subjects on the display unit, a determination unit that determines whether a point of view of the subject is present in the route area and the target area based on the positional data on the point of gaze, and an evaluation unit.