Method and apparatus for testing sleepiness

• US 7,783,347 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2006
• Issued: 08/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ResMed Pty Ltd. (ResMed Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Resmed Limited (ResMed Incorporated)
• Inventors: Stewart, Clinton Todd, Abourizk, Mark Alexander, Green, Paul Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): MANUEL, GEORGE C
• Application Number:
  US11/514,247
• Publication Number:
  US 20060290884A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,453 Days
• Field of Search: 351/205, 351/209, 351/245, 340/575, 340/945, 345/10, 600/558, 382/115, 382/181, 701/36, 607/2
• US Class Current: 607/2
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/112 for measuring diameter of pupils
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/163 by tracking eye movement, gaze, or pupil change
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/18 Eye characteristics, e.g. of the iris

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for authenticating a measure of sleepiness in a person in which a measure of the person'"'"'s sleepiness and an authentication step are performed substantially simultaneously on substantially the same physical attribute of the person. In one form, an eye of a person is scanned under infrared light and a unique identifying code is calculated from the iris as an authentication step. In one form, a measure of the person'"'"'s sleepiness is determined from changes in the pupil size with time.

Claims

1. A method of authenticating a measure of sleepiness in a person, the method comprising:

measuring the person'"'"'s sleepiness; and

performing an authentication step to determine the person'"'"'s identity substantially simultaneously with measuring the person'"'"'s sleepiness, wherein the person'"'"'s sleepiness and the authentication step are performed on substantially the same physical attribute of the person.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the measuring of the person'"'"'s sleepiness is determined by pupillometry and the performing an authentication step is determined by iris scanning.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the physical attribute of the person is an eye of the person.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the physical attribute of the person is a finger of the person.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the measuring of the person'"'"'s sleepiness and the performing of an authentication step are performed within 1/30th of a second of one another.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a result of the measuring of the person'"'"'s sleepiness and the performing of an authentication step is certified.

7. A method of authenticating a measure of sleepiness in a person, the method comprising:

illuminating an eye of the person by an infrared light;

measuring the person'"'"'s sleepiness by the eye; and

performing an authentication step by the eye to verify the identity of the person whose sleepiness is being tested.

8. An apparatus for authenticating sleepiness measurements, comprising:

a camera; and

a computer having a sleepiness measuring software module to measure sleepiness of a person via the person'"'"'s eye and an eye authentication software module to verify the identity of the person whose sleepiness is being measured, wherein the person'"'"'s sleepiness is measured and authentication is verified substantially simultaneously.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a frame adapted to mount the camera in front of an eye of the person.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a hood defining a chamber, the hood adapted to seal the eye of the person against incident light exterior of the chamber from illuminating the eye.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the camera is adapted to scan the eye of the person and provide an image to the sleepiness measuring software module and/or to the eye identification software module.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the sleepiness measuring software module is programmed to measure a rate of change of a pupil diameter.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the sleepiness measuring software module is programmed to measure a blink rate of the person.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the eye authentication software module is programmed to scan an image of an iris of the eye and calculate an identifying code from the image of the iris.

15. A method of authenticating a measure of sleepiness on an eye of a person, the method comprising:

performing a first scan of the eye;

calculating a first code based on the first scan;

performing a second scan of the eye;

calculating a second code based on the second scan; and

comparing the first and second codes to determine whether the eye used in the first and second scans is the same.

16. A method of authenticating a measure of sleepiness on an eye of a person, the method comprising:

performing a first scan of the eye;

calculating a first code based on the first scan;

performing a second scan of the eye;

calculating a second code based on the second scan;

comparing the first and second codes to determine whether the eye used in the first and second scans are the same; and

calculating a rate of change of pupil size between the first and second scans if the same eye has been confirmed to be used in both scans.

17. A method of authenticating a measure of sleepiness on an eye of a person, the method comprising:

performing a first scan of the eye;

calculating a first code based on the first scan;

performing a second scan of the eye;

calculating a second code based on the second scan;

comparing the first and second codes to determine whether the eye used in the first and second scans are the same; and

identifying an iris of the person for each of the first and second scans.

18. A method of authenticating a measure of sleepiness on an eye of a person, the method comprising:

performing a first scan of the eye;

calculating a first code based on the first scan;

performing a second scan of the eye;

calculating a second code based on the second scan;

comparing the first and second codes to determine whether the eye used in the first and second scans are the same; and

determining a power of low frequency oscillations in pupil size.

19. A method of authenticating a person and detecting a medical condition, wherein the method comprises:

scanning an eye of the person, measuring data of at least one physical attribute of the eye, and simultaneously comparing said data with predetermined values to authenticate the identity of the person; and

detecting the presence of a medical condition based on the measuring of the scanned data.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the medical condition is sleepiness.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the physical attribute is pupillometry.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said data includes at least two scans of iris of the person separated by an interval of time.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein said data is packaged, encrypted and transmitted through a network of computers.