US 8,025,400 B2 · Pupilometer for pupil center drift and pupil size measurements at differing viewing distances

Abstract

The present invention generally provides improved devices, systems, and methods for measuring characteristics of at least one eye, and particularly for measuring the physiological changes in eyes under different viewing conditions. An exemplary embodiment provides a pupilometer which measures any changes in location of a pupil center with changes in viewing distances. As the eye often moves significantly during viewing, the pupil center location will often be measured relative to a convenient reference of the eye such as an outer iris boundary. Pupil size may also be recorded, and the measurements from both eyes of a patient may be taken simultaneously. Exemplary embodiments may be configured so as to allow the vergence angle between the eyes to vary with differing viewing distances, regardless of whether one or both eyes are being measured.

Claims36

Dependent claims

A pupilometer comprising:

an optical sensor including an image capture device having an image detection surface;
a sensing optical path coupling the sensor with an eye measurement location, wherein the sensing optical path images at least a sufficient portion of the pupil and the outer iris boundary of an eye disposed at the eye measurement location onto the image detection surface of the image capture device so that the pupilometer can determine a center of the pupil relative to a center of the outer iris boundary;
a variable brightness illumination source;
and,
a processor coupled to the optical sensor and the variable brightness illumination source, the processor having tangible media embodying machine-readable code for determining a relationship between:
changes in brightness of illumination at the eye measurement location, and
location of the pupil center relative to the outer iris boundary of the eye disposed at the eye measurement location wherein the processor further comprises a display for showing a graphical representation of the relationship;
and wherein the graphical representation of the relationship comprises a plot of pupil center location versus brightness level, the plot comprising a plurality of plotted data points, the plurality comprising a data point from each of at least three differing brightness levels measured at the eye measurement location.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Pupilometer for pupil center drift and pupil size measurements at differing viewing distances

Life of this patent

Pupilometer for pupil center drift and pupil size measurements at differing viewing distances

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims36