METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND DEVICES FOR MONITORING ANISOCORIA AND ASYMMETRY OF PUPILLARY REACTION TO STIMULUS

• US 20110228224A1
• Filed: 06/01/2011
• Published: 09/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kamran Siminou
• Original Assignee: Kamran Siminou
• Inventors: Siminou, Kamran
• Granted Patent: US 8,534,840 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 351/206
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0025 characterised by electronic signal processing, e.g. eye models
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0058 for multiple images
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/112 for measuring diameter of pupils
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/14 Arrangements specially adapted for eye photography apparatus or arrangements for taking photographs per se G03B

Abstract

A Pupillometer is disclosed. The Pupillometer has a display, an imaging apparatus that has a pupil finder and a microprocessor, and a memory in communication with the microprocessor. The display is sized to simultaneously display a video of y or more seconds in length of a left pupil and a video of y or more seconds in length of a right pupil. The pupil finder identifies the perimeter of a pupil. The imaging apparatus is capable of recording images of an individual'"'"'s pupils at a rate of x image frames per second for a period of y or more seconds and playing back said image frames as a video at x image frames per second or at another rate that is faster or slower than x image frames per second. The memory has stored therein a program for enabling said microprocessor to do the following: (i) identify a center of the left pupil and a center of the right pupil for each image frame; (ii) synchronize each image frame of the two videos starting from the first frame; (iii) cause the display to display the two videos simultaneously such that each of the image frames of the video of the left eye is synchronized to a corresponding image frame of the video of the right eye when played back on the display; and (iv) cause the two videos to be displayed so that the center of the left pupil in each image frame is aligned on the display with the center of the right pupil for the corresponding image frame.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring asymmetry in response to a stimulus between a left pupil and a right pupil of an individual comprising;

displaying on a display one or more images of a response of the left pupil to the stimulus and one or more images of a response of the right pupil to the stimulus,

wherein a center of the left pupil is aligned with a center of the right pupil on the display.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a pair of parallel lines that extend from the perimeter of the left pupil to the perimeter of the right pupil in each image, the parallel lines having a first section and a second section, wherein in the first section the distance between the parallel lines is defined by the diameter of the left pupil for each image and in the second section the distance between the parallel lines is defined by the diameter of the right pupil for each image.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the color of the parallel lines in the first section is different from the color of the parallel lines in the second section.

4. A Pupillometer comprising:

a display that is sized to simultaneously display a first frame comprising one or more consecutive images of a left pupil and a second frame comprising one or more consecutive images of a right pupil;

an imaging apparatus comprising (a) a pupil finder that identifies the perimeter of a pupil and (b) a microprocessor, said imaging apparatus capable of recording images of an individual'"'"'s right and left pupils simultaneously and playing back said images; and

a memory in communication with said microprocessor, said memory having stored therein a program for enabling said microprocessor to;

(i) identify a center of the left pupil and a center of the right pupil in each recorded image of a pupil;

(ii) synchronize said one or more consecutive images of the left pupil with said one or more consecutive images of the right pupil;

(iii) cause the display to display said one or more consecutive images of the left pupil in the first frame and said one or more consecutive images of the second pupil in the second frame, such that each image in the first frame is synchronized with its corresponding image in the second frame when played back on the display; and

(iv) cause the images to be displayed so that the center of the left pupil in each of the images in the first frame is aligned on the display with the center of the right pupil in each of the corresponding images in the second frame.

5. The Pupillometer of claim 4, wherein the program further enables said microprocessor to generate a pair of parallel lines on the display that extend from the perimeter of the left pupil to the perimeter of the right pupil in each image frame, the parallel lines having a first section and a second section, wherein in the first section the distance between the parallel lines is defined by the diameter of the left pupil in each image and in the second section the distance between the parallel lines is defined by the diameter of the right pupil in each image.

6. The Pupillometer of claim 5, wherein the color of the parallel lines in the first section is different from the color of the parallel lines in the second section.

7. A program product comprising:

a computer-readable medium; and

computer-executable instructions recorded on the computer-readable medium for performing a method comprising;

recording images of a response of a left pupil to a stimulus thereby resulting in a first set of sequential images;

recording images of a response of a right pupil to the same stimulus at the same time as the first images were recorded, thereby resulting in a second set of sequential images;

displaying on a display simultaneously the first set of images and the second set of image,

wherein the two sets of images are synchronized, and

wherein a center of the left pupil of each image from the first set of sequential images is aligned with a center of the right pupil from the second set of sequential images on the display.

8. The program product of claim 7, wherein the computer-executable instructions for performing a method further comprise generating a pair of parallel lines that extend from the perimeter of the left pupil to the perimeter of the right pupil in each image, the parallel lines having a first section and a second section, wherein in the first section the distance between the parallel lines is defined by the diameter of the left pupil for each image and in the second section the distance between the parallel lines is defined by the diameter of the right pupil for each image.

9. The program product of claim 8, wherein the color of the parallel lines in the first section is different from the color of the parallel lines in the second section.