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  Biosensors, communicators, and controllers monitoring eye movement and methods for using themUSPTO Application #: 20070273611Title: Biosensors, communicators, and controllers monitoring eye movement and methods for using them Abstract: Biosensor, communicator, and/or controller apparatus, systems, and methods are provided for monitoring movement of a person's eye. The apparatus includes a device configured to be worn on a user's head, a light source for directing light towards one or both eyes of the user, one or more image guides on the device for viewing one or both eyes of the user, and one or more cameras carried on the device and coupled to the image guides for acquiring images of the eyes and/or the user's surroundings. The apparatus may include a cable and/or a transmitter for transmitting image data from the camera to a remote location, e.g., to processor and/or display for analyzing and/or displaying the image data. A system including the apparatus may be used to monitor one or more oculometric parameters, e.g., pupillary response, and/or to control a computer using the user's eyes instead of a mouse. (end of abstract) Agent: VistaIPLaw Group LLP - Irvine, CA, US Inventor: William C. Torch USPTO Applicaton #: 20070273611 - Class: 345008000 (USPTO) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070273611. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
RELATED-APPLICATION INFORMATION [0001] This application is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 11/097,788, filed Apr. 1, 2005, which claims benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/559,135, filed Apr. 1, 2004, the entire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0003] The present invention relates generally to apparatus, systems, and methods for monitoring movement of a human eye, e.g., for monitoring fatigue, purposeful communication, and/or controlling devices based upon movement of an eye, eyelid, and/or other components of the eye or eyes of a person. BACKGROUND [0004] It has been suggested to use movement of the human eye to monitor involuntary conditions, such as a person's wakefulness or drowsiness. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,243 discloses a device that sounds an alarm to warn a person using the device that they are beginning to fall asleep. The device includes a frame similar to a set of eyeglasses onto which is mounted an optical fiber and a photocell that are directed towards the user's eye when the frame is worn. The photocell detects the intensity of light reflected off of the user's eye, i.e., either by the eyelid when the eye is closed or the eye surface when the eye is open. A timer distinguishes between regular blinks, and an extended time period during which the eye is closed, i.e., a time period that may indicate that the person is falling asleep. When a threshold time elapses, an alarm is sounded to notify and/or wake the user. [0005] Another device is the Alertness Monitor by MTI Research Inc., which may be mounted on safety glasses, and emits a continuous infrared beam of light along the axis of the eyelid at a strategic position where the beam cannot be broken by the eyelashes except during an eyeblink, giving it the ability to measure eyeblink frequency. Other devices, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,469,143 and 4,359,724, directly engage the eyelid or eyebrow of a user to detect movement of the eye and activate an alarm when a drowsiness condition is detected. Such devices may include mechanical devices, e.g., a mechanical arm, or a piezo-electric film against the eyelid. [0006] It has been suggested to mount cameras or other devices to a dashboard, roof, or other location in a vehicle to monitor a driver's awareness. Such devices, however, require the user to maintain constant eye contact with the camera. In addition, they do not monitor eyelid movement if the user turns his head sideways or downwards, turns around, exits the vehicle, if the user moves around rapidly, or if the camera moves relative to the individual. Further, such cameras may violate privacy and/or have problems seeing through eyeglasses, sunglasses, or even contact lenses, and may not operate effectively in sunlight. SUMMARY [0007] The present invention is directed to apparatus, systems, and methods for monitoring movement of one or more eyes, eyelids, and/or pupils of a subject. Generally, humans blink at least about 5-30 times per minute, or about 7,000-43,000 times per day. Each involuntary-reflexive blink lasts about 200-300 milliseconds, generally averaging about 250 milliseconds, amounting to about 1,750-10,800 seconds per day of eye closure due to involuntary blinking. As tiredness or sleepiness occurs, the eye blink may get longer and slower and/or the blink rate may vary, and/or the eyelids may begin to droop with small amplitude eye lid blinks, e.g., until the eyes begin to close for short term "microsleeps," i.e., sleep conditions that last for about 3-5 seconds or longer, or for prolonged sleep. Furthermore, the pupils may constrict more sluggishly, show unstable fluctuations in size, shrinking progressively in diameter, and/or demonstrate delayed responses to light flashes (i.e. delayed pupil response latency) as sleepiness and fatigue progresses. In addition, other ocular manifestations of drowsiness may occur, such as slow or delayed saccadic eye tracking responses, e.g., to a stimulus (i.e., delayed saccadic response latency), with either over- or under-shooting the target, and/or a loss of directed gaze with or without binocular vergence or divergence, eye drift, or esophoria. [0008] In one embodiment, an apparatus for monitoring eyelid, pupil, and/or eye movement is provided that includes a device configured to be worn on a person's head, a light source for directing light towards the eyes of the person when the device is worn, and first and second fiberoptic bundles coupled to the device, the first bundle positioned for viewing a first eye of the person wearing the device, the second bundle positioned for viewing a second eye of the person wearing the device. The apparatus may also include a camera coupled to the first and second bundles for acquiring images of the first and second eyes. [0009] Optionally, the apparatus may also include a third fiberoptic bundle oriented away from the user, e.g., for viewing a region towards which the user's head is turned. In addition or alternatively, the apparatus may carry one or more spatial sensors. The camera may be coupled to the first and second bundles for acquiring images of the first and second eyes, as well as to the third bundle for acquiring images of the area towards which the user's head and/or eyes are directed. The spatial sensors may allow simultaneous measuring or tracking of the user's head movement, e.g., relative to the user's eye movements. In addition, the arrays of emitters and/or sensors coupled to the camera may allow measurement of a variety of oculometric parameters of one or both eyes, such as eyelid velocity, acceleration and deceleration, eye blink frequency, "PERCLOS" (percentage of time the eyelid is open), the vertical height of the palpebral fissure (i.e. the region between the eye lids not covering the pupil), e.g., as a distance or percentage related to a completely open eye, and the like. [0010] In another embodiment, a self-contained device is provided for detecting movement of a person's eyelid that includes a device adapted to be worn on the person's head, an emitter on the device for directing light towards an eye of the person when the device is worn, and a camera for detecting light from the emitter. The sensor produces an output signal indicating when the eye is open or closed, and a transmitter on the frame is coupled to the sensor for wireless transmission of the output signal to a remote location. The frame may also include a processor for comparing the output signal to a predetermined threshold to detect drowsiness-induced eyelid movement. Similar to the previous embodiments, the emitter and sensor may be a solid state biosensor device for emitting and detecting infrared light, or alternatively an array, e.g., one or two dimensional array, of emitters and/or sensors in a predetermined configuration on the frame, e.g., in a vertical, horizontal, diagonal, or other linear or other geometric array of more than one emitter and/or sensor oriented towards one or both eyes. In particular, an array of emitters and/or sensors may allow measurement of oculometric parameters, such as those identified elsewhere herein. [0011] The emitter and/or sensors may be affixed to any number of points on the frame, e.g., around the lens and/or in the nose bridge, or alternatively anywhere along the frame, including near or on the nasal portion of the frame, the attachment of a temple piece of the frame, and/or surface mounted on the lens of an eyeglass. Alternatively, the emitter and/or sensor may be embedded in the lens of an eyeglass, or otherwise such that they operate through the lens. Thus, the emitter(s) and/or sensor(s) may be fixed on an eye-frame such that they move with the wearer's head movements, and continuously focus on the user's eyes in any body position, whether the user is in a vehicle, outdoors or in any other environment. [0012] In still another embodiment, a system is provided for monitoring movement of a person's eye. The system includes a device configured to be worn on a person's head, one or more emitters on the device for directing light towards an eye of the person when the device is worn, and a camera, e.g., a CCD or CMOS device. The emitter(s) may be configured for projecting a reference frame towards the eye. The camera may be oriented towards the eye for monitoring movement of the eye relative to the reference frame. The camera may be provided on the device or may be provided remote from the device, but in relatively close proximity to the user. [0013] Light from the emitter(s) may be emitted towards the eye of a user wearing the device to illuminate the eye(s) of the user, while projecting a reference frame onto the eye. The emitter(s) may project light "invisibly" to the user, i.e., outside the scotopic (night-vision) or photopic (day-vision) range of normal vision, e.g., in the infrared light range, such that the illumination and/or reference frame do not interfere substantially with the user's vision. The camera may image light produced by the emitters, e.g., in the infrared light range, thereby detecting the projected light as a spot of light, band of light or other "glint." Movement of the eye relative to the reference frame may be monitored with the camera. A graphical output of the movement monitored by the camera, e.g., relative to a reference frame projected onto the eye, may be monitored. For example, infrared light from the emitters may be reflected off of the retina as a "red reflex" under white light, as a white or dark black pupil under infrared light, including the image of a dark pupil using methods of subtraction known in the art. [0014] A processor, e.g., using one or more of these methods, may detect movement of the eye's pupil, e.g., measuring movement relative to the reference frame. This movement may be graphically displayed, showing the movement of the eye's pupil relative to the reference frame. Optionally, the output signal from the one or more sensors may be correlated with video signals produced by the camera monitoring movement of the eye relative to the reference frame, e.g., to determine the person's level of drowsiness, or psycho- or neuro-physiological cognitive, emotional, and/or alertness-related state of mind. [0015] In yet another embodiment, a method is provided for controlling a computing device or other electronic or electromechanical device (e.g. radio, television, wheel-chair, telephone, alarm system, audible, visible or tactile alerting system, etc.) using a device worn on a user's head. The device may include one or more components, similar to other embodiments described herein, including a camera having at least one objective lens directed towards at least one eye of the user. The computer device may include a display including a pointer displayed on the display. The display may include a heads-up or heads-down display attached to the device worn on the user's head or otherwise attached or disposed on the user's head, a desk computer monitor that may be disposed in front of the user, a digitally projected image on a screen (e.g., as in a drive or flight simulator), and the like. Movement of the user's eye(s) may be monitored using the camera, and movement of the eye(s) may be correlated relative to the pointer on the display to cause the pointer to follow movement of the eye(s), e.g., similar to a computer mouse. Optionally, the camera may monitor the user's eye(s) for predetermined eye activities, e.g., blinks for predetermined lengths of time, that may correspond to instructions to execute one or more commands identified with the pointer on the display, e.g., similar to "double-clicking" on a computer mouse. [0016] Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent from consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a patient in a hospital wearing an embodiment of an apparatus for monitoring the patient based upon movement of the patient's eye and/or eyelid. [0018] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, including a detection device and a processing box. [0019] FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of an exemplary embodiment of circuitry for transmitting an output signal corresponding to a sequence of eyelid movements. [0020] FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of an exemplary embodiment of circuitry for controlling equipment in response to an output signal corresponding to a sequence of eyelid movements. Continue reading... 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