An Extended Method for Saccadic Eye Movement Measurements Using a Head-Mounted Display

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Human Factors Engineering
• Virtual Reality Technology

Background:

• Saccadic eye movement is crucial for daily activities like driving and sports.
• Traditional tests like the Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) and King-Devick (K-D) tests offer limited measurement parameters, primarily focusing on 'adjusted time'.
• A need exists for more detailed analysis of saccadic eye movement, including speed and reaction rates, differentiating rapid and slow movements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate an extended method for analyzing saccadic eye movement using virtual reality.
• To incorporate the measurement of 'rest time' and 'transfer time' alongside 'adjusted time' in saccadic eye movement analysis.
• To enhance the detailed assessment of eye movement dynamics beyond traditional testing capabilities.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a virtual reality-based Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) test using a FOVE virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display with an integrated eye-tracking module.
• Testing the method on 30 subjects with normal vision and no ophthalmologic conditions at a 2-diopter (50-cm) viewing distance.
• Recording gaze-tracking logs to measure 'adjusted time', 'rest time' (for focusing on targets), and 'transfer time' (for moving between targets).

Main Results:

• The proposed virtual reality method successfully acquired detailed parameters of saccadic eye movement, including 'adjusted time', 'rest time', and 'transfer time'.
• Gaze-tracking logs provided comprehensive data on eye movement dynamics during the virtual DEM test.
• The results demonstrated the feasibility of analyzing more saccadic eye movement parameters compared to traditional methods.

Conclusions:

• The virtual reality-based approach offers a more comprehensive and detailed analysis of saccadic eye movement.
• This extended method provides valuable insights into eye movement speed and reaction rates by measuring distinct time components.
• The findings suggest a significant advancement in the assessment of saccadic eye movement for applications in fields like driving safety and sports performance analysis.