Systems and methods for detecting blink inhibition as a marker of engagement and perceived stimulus salience

A method for determining a measure of engagement by an individual with respect to a dynamic visual stimulus, comprising the steps of:

• receiving blink data indicative of the individual's blink responses to the dynamic visual stimulus;
• synchronizing, via software executing on a processor, the blink data with the dynamic visual stimulus;
• identifying, via software executing on the processor, a pattern of blink inhibition in the synchronized blink data;
• and
• comparing, via software executing on the processor, the pattern of blink inhibition in the synchronized blink data with the dynamic visual stimulus to identify a portion of the dynamic visual stimulus contemporaneous with the pattern of blink inhibition,
• whereby the pattern of blink inhibition indicates a marker of engagement by the individual with the contemporaneous portion of the dynamic visual stimulus.

A system for determining a measure of engagement by an individual with respect to a dynamic visual stimulus, comprising:

• a processor;
• software executing on the processor for receiving blink data indicative of the individual's blink responses to the dynamic visual stimulus;
• software executing on the processor for synchronizing the blink data with the dynamic visual stimulus;
• software executing on the processor for identifying a pattern of blink inhibition in the synchronized blink data;
• and
• software executing on the processor for comparing the pattern of blink inhibition in the synchronized blink data with the dynamic visual stimulus to identify a portion of the dynamic visual stimulus contemporaneous with the pattern of blink inhibition,
• whereby the pattern of blink inhibition indicates a marker of engagement by the individual with the contemporaneous portion of the dynamic visual stimulus.

A method for assessing the risk of a mental condition in an individual using an eye monitoring device, comprising the steps of:

• receiving blink data indicative of the individual's blink responses to a dynamic visual stimulus displayed to the individual, wherein the blink data is collected via the eye monitoring device;
• synchronizing, via software executing on a processor, the received blink data with the dynamic visual stimulus;
• identifying, via software executing on the processor, a pattern of blink inhibition in the synchronized blink data;
• retrieving, via software executing on the processor, event data related to the dynamic visual stimulus from a database;
• and
• comparing, via software executing on the processor, a parameter of the pattern of blink inhibition in the synchronized blink data with a parameter of the event data related to the dynamic visual stimulus to determine at least one delta parameter, wherein the at least one delta parameter indicates a likelihood that the individual has a mental disorder.

A system for assessing the risk of a mental condition in an individual using an eye monitoring device, comprising:

• a processor;
• software executing on the processor for receiving blink data indicative of the individual's blink responses to a dynamic visual stimulus displayed to the individual, wherein the blink data is collected via the eye monitoring device;
• software executing on the processor for synchronizing the received blink data with the dynamic visual stimulus;
• software executing on the processor for identifying a pattern of blink inhibition in the synchronized blink data;
• software executing on the processor for retrieving event data related to the dynamic visual stimulus from a database;
• and
• software executing on the processor for comparing a parameter of the pattern of blink inhibition in the synchronized blink data with a parameter of the event data related to the dynamic visual stimulus to determine at least one delta parameter, wherein the at least one delta parameter indicates a likelihood that the individual has a mental disorder.

A method for evaluating, monitoring, or diagnosing a mental condition in an individual using an eye monitoring device, comprising the steps of:

• receiving blink data indicative of the individual's blink responses to a dynamic visual stimulus displayed to the individual, wherein the blink data is collected using the eye monitoring device;
• synchronizing, via software executing on a processor, the received blink data with the dynamic visual stimulus;
• identifying, via software executing on the processor, a pattern of blink inhibition in the synchronized blink data;
• retrieving, via software executing on the processor, a control pattern of blink inhibition for the dynamic visual stimulus displayed to the individual from a database;
• and
• comparing, via software executing on the processor, the pattern of blink inhibition in the synchronized blink data with the control pattern of blink inhibition to determine whether the pattern of blink inhibition falls outside a range of the control pattern of blink inhibition and thereby indicates a likelihood that the individual has a mental condition.

A system for evaluating, monitoring, or diagnosing a mental condition in an individual using an eye monitoring device, comprising:

• a processor;
• software executing on the processor for receiving blink data indicative of the individual's blink responses to a dynamic visual stimulus displayed to the individual, wherein the blink data is collected using the eye monitoring device;
• software executing on the processor for synchronizing the received blink data with the dynamic visual stimulus;
• software executing on the processor for identifying a pattern of blink inhibition in the synchronized blink data;
• software executing on the processor for retrieving a control pattern of blink inhibition for the dynamic visual stimulus displayed to the individual from a database;
• and
• software executing on the processor for comparing the pattern of blink inhibition in the synchronized blink data with the control pattern of blink inhibition to determine whether the pattern of blink inhibition falls outside a range of the control pattern of blink inhibition and thereby indicates a likelihood that the individual has a mental condition.

A method for displaying visual engagement over time of a plurality of individuals with respect to a dynamic visual stimulus, comprising the steps of:

• receiving blink data indicative of blink responses to the dynamic visual stimulus for each of the plurality of individuals;
• retrieving, via software executing on a processor, control blink data from a database;
• comparing, via software executing on the processor, the received blink data to the control blink data to identify one or more differences between the received blink data and the control blink data;
• and
• generating, via software executing on the processor, a display of the one or more differences between the received blink data and the control blink data.

A system for displaying visual engagement over time of a plurality of individuals with respect to a dynamic visual stimulus, comprising:

• a processor;
• software executing on the processor for receiving blink data indicative of blink responses to the dynamic visual stimulus for each of the plurality of individuals;
• software executing on the processor for retrieving control blink data from a database;
• software executing on the processor for comparing the received blink data to the control blink data to identify one or more differences between the received blink data and the control blink data;
• and
• software executing on the processor for generating a display of the one or more differences between the received blink data and the control blink data.