METHODS AND TECHNIQUES TO MEASURE, MAP AND CORRELATE OCULAR MICRO-MOVEMENT AND OCULAR MICRO-TREMOR (OMT) SIGNALS WITH COGNITIVE PROCESSING CAPABILITIES

• US 20090198148A1
• Filed: 01/29/2009
• Published: 08/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Martin Lonky
• Original Assignee: Martin Lonky
• Inventors: Lonky, Martin L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,959,578 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/558
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/113 for determining or recording eye movement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1101 Detecting tremor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1103 Detecting eye twinkling
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/163 by tracking eye movement, gaze, or pupil change
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/168 Evaluating attention deficit, hyperactivity
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4082 Diagnosing or monitoring movement diseases, e.g. Parkinson, Huntington or Tourette
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6803 Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6814 Head
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6821 Eye
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7257 using Fourier transforms

Abstract

An apparatus and method of collecting elements of and assembling various portions of ocular micro motions such as ocular micro-tremor (OMT) movements of the eye, and correlating them directly with OMT waveforms acquired from both known and unknown states of cognition and cognitive function. Comparing newly acquired waveforms from patients with undiagnosed cognitive dysfunctions, permits an individual or caregiver the ability to identify those unknown issues or cognitive states based on matching or relating statistically elements of their waveform with categories of other known cognitive processing normals and abnormals, functional and dysfunctional individuals. It also allows for measuring the effects of therapeutic agents (psychological or pharmacological) by relating them to measurable changes in cognitive function as a result of correlated changes in waveforms.

Claims

1. A system for correlating ocular micro-tremor signals with cognitive dysfunctions, comprising:

a signal acquisition subsystem for obtaining at least one ocular micro-tremor signal;

a signal processing subsystem for creating a waveform and/or signature from at least one acquired ocular micro-tremor signal; and

a correlation subsystem for comparing the ocular micro-tremor waveform and/or signature to a normal cognitive dysfunctional waveform.

2. The system for correlating ocular micro-tremor signals of claim 1, wherein the signal acquisition subsystem is chosen from the group consisting of an optical sensor, a piezoelectric sensor, a strain gauge sensor, an accelerometer (sensor), a CW emitter/sensor, a pulsed light wave emitter sensor, and a sonic wave emitter/sensor, for discerning and measuring the micro motions and micro-tremors of the eye.

3. The system for correlating ocular micro-tremor signals of claim 1, wherein the normal cognitive dysfunctional waveform may be contrasted and compared to the group consisting of, for example, an ADHD waveform, or an ADD waveform, or an unknown patient waveform and an autistic savant waveform.

4. The system for correlating ocular micro-tremor signals of claim 1, wherein the signal processing subsystem includes defining a wave form signature.

5. The system for correlating ocular micro-tremor signals of claim 4, wherein the waveform signature includes measuring and defining any or all of:

leading edge rise time slopes and trailing edge fall times slopes of repetitive sinusoidal components of the optical tremor signal waveforms;

midpoint and half-widths of repetitive sinusoidal components of the optical tremor signal waveforms;

separations between peak intervals;

frequency of burst packages and waveform frequency of bursts and sinusoidal components;

spindle associated with the waveforms;

average and mean frequency of the waveform;

time intervals between voids between the optical tremor signal packets; and

analyzing the mean amplitudes and extremes of the sinusoidal patterns and the collective bursts.

6. The system for correlating ocular micro-tremor signals of claim 5, wherein transforms such as Fourier transforms are performed on the waveform signatures.

7. The system for correlating ocular micro-tremor signals of claim 4, wherein a patient'"'"'s waveform signature is compared and contrasted to a library of normal cognitive signature waveforms, or other categorized libraries of cognitive dysfunctional classes, such as ADD, ADHD, schizophrenia, Parkinsons Disease, or others.

8. The system for correlating ocular micro-tremor signals of claim 5, wherein a patient'"'"'s waveform signature is compared and contrasted to a library of normal cognitive signature waveforms, or other categorized libraries of cognitive dysfunctional classes, such as ADD, ADHD, schizophrenia, Parkinsons Disease, or others.

9. The system for correlating ocular micro-tremor signals of claim 6, wherein a patient'"'"'s waveform signature is compared and contrasted to a library of normal cognitive signature waveforms, or other categorized libraries of cognitive dysfunctional classes, such as ADD, ADHD, schizophrenia, Parkinsons Disease, or others.

10. The system for correlating ocular micro-tremor signals of claim 6, wherein the waveform signature is compared to a library of data from groups of cognitively dysfunctional ADD, ADHD, autism, bipolar thinking, OCD thinking, schizophrenia, and Alzheimers waveforms.

11. The system for correlating ocular micro-tremor signals of claim 1, wherein the correlation subsystem is applied to the patient both before onset of therapeutic interventions, and post therapy to compare and contrast benefits of given therapies to produce ocular micro-tremor signatures more typically similar to those of cognitive normal populations.