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Changes in Eye Tracking Features Across Periods of Overpressure Exposure.
Hrishikesh M Rao1, Sarah M McGuire1, Elizabeth Halford2
1Human Health & Performance Systems Group, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA 02420 USA.
Military Medicine
|May 16, 2023
Summary
Field-based electrooculography eye tracking shows promise for assessing neurophysiological effects of repetitive blast overpressure exposure in military and law enforcement. This method can link cumulative exposure to physiological changes, aiding in understanding and mitigating risks from blast overpressure training.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Occupational Health
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Repetitive blast overpressure exposure is common in military and law enforcement training.
- Current understanding of neurophysiological effects from cumulative blast exposure is limited.
- Existing physiological monitoring methods are often confined to laboratory settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate the feasibility of using electrooculography (EOG)-based eye tracking for field assessment of neurophysiological changes.
- To correlate cumulative overpressure exposure with physiological signals during training activities.
- To develop a method for individualized assessment of blast exposure effects.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a body-worn system for overpressure dosimetry, capturing sound pressure levels and waveforms (135-185 dB peak).
- Employed a commercial Shimmer Sensing system for EOG eye tracking, recording horizontal and vertical eye movements and blinks.
- Collected data during explosive breaching activities with U.S. Army Special Operators and FBI special agents.
Main Results:
- Accumulated overpressure exposure (LZeq8hr) ranged from 110 to 160 dB.
- Oculomotor features (blink rate, saccade rate, blink waveform variance) exhibited changes related to overpressure exposure.
- A regression model predicting overpressure levels from oculomotor features showed significant association (R=0.51, P<.01), driven by saccade rate and blink waveform changes.
Conclusions:
- EOG-based eye tracking is feasible during field activities like explosive breaching.
- This method shows potential for assessing individualized neurophysiological effects of overpressure exposure.
- Future research will focus on time-dependent modeling to establish dose-response curves for continuous eye movement changes.
