Validation of an Underwater Oculometric Assessment Tool
Abstract
A number of neurologic syndromes are associated with undersea operations, including neurologic decompression sickness, hypoxia, hypercarbia, and CNS O2 toxicity. Automated neurologic assessment technologies have been developed that could provide early detection and management of undersea related neurologic syndromes. Small eye movement cameras, known asVideo-oculographic (VOG) systems, have been extensively used for clinical assessment of eye movements, which represent objective and quantifiable neurologic function. A recent advance now allows simultaneous measurement of (1) eye movements, (2) pupil control dynamics and (3) coordination of eye and pupil movements and (4) eyelid blinks. Recent studies have demonstrated that coordinated eye convergence movements and pupillary constriction candifferentiate control subjects and mild TBI patients and aids in deciding return to duty or referral for rehabilitation. Pupil responses are also indicators of oxygenation status at high altitude. This technology shows considerable promise for applications in many operational environments for unobtrusively monitoring physiological status and vigilance. This proposal will deliver a systemthat will be useful as a research tool and as a potential system for detecting early sentinel signs of nitrogen narcosis, hypercapnia, CNS oxygen toxicity, otic barotrauma, and other neurologic syndromes associated with undersea environments. Additionally, this tool could be used to identify changes associated with diver fatigue and cognitive decline. The objective of this effortis to validate an integrated, non-invasive, diver-worn test system that can rapidly and repeatedly evaluate the undersea-related effects on diver physiology and neurological condition. This tool will be tested for its ability to capture eye movement patterns reliably under extreme environmental conditions, in addition to in-water usability.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 19, 2020
- Source ID
- N000142014002
Entities
People
- Dawn Kernagis
Organizations
- Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy