WO2019172503A1 - Device for visual field defect evaluation via eye tracking, method for visual field defect evaluation using same, and computer-readable storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for visual field defect evaluation via eye tracking according to an embodiment of the present invention may comprise: a display unit for providing a marker to be manifested according to a preconfigured pattern; an image acquisition unit for acquiring an eye image of a visual field evaluation subject gazing the marker; and a visual field evaluation unit for providing the display unit with a signal for manifesting a marker according to the preconfigured pattern, and receiving and analyzing the eye image of the visual field evaluation subject, which is acquired by the image acquisition unit, thereby evaluating a visual field of the visual field evaluation subject.

Description

Apparatus for visual field disorder evaluation through eye tracking, visual field disorder evaluation method and computer readable storage medium

The present invention relates to an apparatus for evaluating visual disturbances through eye tracking and a method for evaluating visual disturbances using the same, and more specifically, a marker for visually evaluating visual disturbances by introducing eye tracking technology to express subjects according to a predetermined pattern. The present invention relates to an apparatus for assessing visual disturbances through eye tracking and to a method for evaluating visual disturbances using the same, which can determine visual acuity disorders by tracking and analyzing eye movements.

Visual field refers to the range of periphery that can be seen at the same time while looking at a certain target with one eye. Visual field examination plays an important role in determining the degree of optic nerve damage in optic neuropathy and in diagnosing, discriminating and observing central nervous system diseases. Do it.

Existing vision measuring device is to fix the head of the subject and the subject looks at a point in the center of the front, while keeping the eyes fixed to present a point at various unspecified points of the front and press the button when the subject recognizes the point. Measure your field of view.

However, the conventional visual measuring device has the inconvenience that the subject needs to fix the head while the visual field measurement is performed, and there is a limitation that the subject can provide accurate results only when the subject continuously watches the point. In other words, the conventional visual measuring instrument is more likely to cause an error in visual field measurement if the subject does not fix their eyes during the inspection.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for visual field disorder evaluation through eye tracking and a method for assessing visual field disorder using the same, which can determine visual field disorder of a visual field subject by tracking and analyzing eye movement of the visual field subject.

The object of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned object, and other objects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above object, the apparatus for visual field disorder evaluation through eye tracking according to an embodiment of the present invention, a display unit for providing a marker that is expressed according to a predetermined pattern; An image acquiring unit acquiring an eye image of a subject of visual field evaluation looking at the marker; And providing a signal for expressing a marker according to the predetermined pattern to the display unit, and receiving and analyzing an eye image of the visual field subject, which is obtained by the image acquisition unit, to evaluate the visual field of the visual field subject. It may include a visual field evaluation unit.

On the other hand, the visual disturbance evaluation method according to the eye tracking according to an embodiment of the present invention, providing a marker that is expressed according to a predetermined pattern through the display unit; Acquiring an eye image of a subject of visual field evaluation according to the expression of the marker through an image acquiring unit, and extracting pupil position information from the acquired eye image; And matching the pupil position information with the position information of the marker to determine whether the pupil reacts within the predetermined range with respect to the expressed marker, and evaluating the visual field of the visual field subject.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a marker is provided according to a predetermined pattern through a display provided to be spaced apart from both eyes of a subject by a predetermined distance, and the eye movement according to the subject of the subject by assessing the visual field is observed. And track and analyze to determine visual field impairment.

As a result, the visual disturbance can be evaluated in a comfortable posture without having to fix the subject's head to evaluate the visual disturbance, thereby reducing the discomfort of the subject in the visual disturbance evaluation process.

In addition, in the process of evaluating visual field disorder, the subject's gaze is not fixed to one point, but rather by looking at a marker moving according to a predetermined pattern, thereby eliminating the difficulty of continuously fixing the subject's gaze to one point. By reducing the likelihood of errors in the examination, more accurate visual disturbance evaluation results can be provided.

In addition, the visual field evaluation subject evaluates the visual disturbance in consideration of eye position information and reaction speed as the visual evaluation subject looks at the marker moving according to a predetermined pattern, thereby detecting that the visual field subject evaluates the visual disorder falsely. This can provide more accurate visual disturbance evaluation results.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for evaluating visual field disorder through eye tracking according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an exemplary diagram of a movement path of a marker expressed according to a predetermined pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart of a method for evaluating visual field disorder through eye tracking according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The following merely illustrates the principles of the invention. Those skilled in the art, although not explicitly described or illustrated herein, may embody the principles of the present invention and invent various devices that fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention. In addition, all conditional terms and embodiments listed herein are in principle clearly intended to be understood only for the purpose of understanding the concept of the invention and are not to be limited to the specifically listed embodiments and states. do.

In addition, it is to be understood that all detailed descriptions, including the specific embodiments, as well as the principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present invention, are intended to include structural and functional equivalents thereof. In addition, these equivalents should be understood to include not only equivalents now known, but also equivalents to be developed in the future, that is, all devices invented to perform the same function regardless of structure.

Thus, for example, it should be understood that the block diagrams herein represent a conceptual view of example circuitry embodying the principles of the invention. Similarly, all flowcharts, state transitions, pseudocodes, and the like are understood to represent various processes performed by a computer or processor, whether or not the computer or processor is substantially illustrated on a computer readable medium and whether the computer or processor is clearly shown. Should be.

The functionality of the various elements shown in the figures, including functional blocks represented by a processor or similar concept, can be provided by the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functionality may be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor or by a plurality of individual processors, some of which may be shared.

In addition, the explicit use of terms presented in terms of processor, control, or similar concept should not be interpreted exclusively as a citation to hardware capable of running software, and without limitation, ROM for storing digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, software. (ROM), RAM, and non-volatile memory are to be understood to implicitly include. It may also include hardware for the governor.

In the claims of this specification, components expressed as means for performing the functions described in the detailed description include all types of software including, for example, a combination of circuit elements or firmware / microcode, etc. that perform the functions. It is intended to include all methods of performing a function which are combined with appropriate circuitry for executing the software to perform the function. The invention, as defined by these claims, is equivalent to what is understood from this specification, as any means capable of providing such functionality, as the functionality provided by the various enumerated means are combined, and in any manner required by the claims. It should be understood that.

The above objects, features, and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, whereby those skilled in the art may easily implement the technical idea of the present invention. There will be. In describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for evaluating visual field disorder through eye tracking according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram of a movement path of a marker expressed according to a predetermined pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the apparatus 100 for assessing visual disturbance through eye tracking according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a display 110, a visual field evaluator 120, and an image acquirer 130. It is configured to include.

The display unit 110 is to provide a marker M to be observed by the subject of visual field evaluation in a visual field disorder evaluation process.

According to an embodiment, the display unit 110 may be provided to be spaced apart from both eyes of the subject to be evaluated by a predetermined distance. For example, a head mounted display (HMD), smart glass, smart goggles, It may be implemented in a form in which both eyes and the display of the visual evaluation subject are spaced apart by a predetermined distance regardless of the movement of the visual evaluation subject. Accordingly, the visual field assessment subject can evaluate the visual field disorder in a comfortable posture without having to fix the head for visual field disorder evaluation, thereby reducing the discomfort of the subject in the visual field evaluation process. In addition, even if the subject of the visual field evaluation moves, the display unit 100 moves together with the subject's head, thereby eliminating the need to consider errors due to the movement.

In addition, the display 110 may have a wireless communication function, and may receive a signal for expressing the marker M according to a predetermined pattern from the visual field evaluation unit 120 to be described later.

The image acquisition unit 130 is for acquiring an eye image of the subject of visual field evaluation while the subject of visual field evaluation observes a marker expressed according to a predetermined pattern through the display unit 110. Can be.

According to an embodiment, the image acquirer 130 may be integrally formed with the display 110. In this case, the eyeball image obtained by the image acquirer 130 may be provided in the display 110. By the wireless communication function may be transmitted to the visual field evaluation unit 120 to be described later.

However, the image acquisition unit 130 is not limited to being integrally formed with the display unit 110, and each component may be formed separately. In this case, the image acquirer 130 may include a wireless communication function to transmit the obtained eyeball image to the visual field evaluator 120.

The visual field evaluation unit 120 provides a signal for expressing the marker M according to a predetermined pattern on the display 110, and the visual field obtained by the image acquisition unit 130 while the marker M is expressed. Receiving and analyzing the eyeball image of the subject to evaluate to evaluate the field of view of the subject, the wireless communication module 121, marker providing module 122, eye tracking module 123 and the field evaluation module 124 It is configured by.

The wireless communication module 121 is for performing wireless communication between the visual field evaluation unit 120 and other components (for example, the display 110 and the image acquisition unit 130).

The marker providing module 122 provides a signal for expressing the marker M in the virtual circle C of the display 110 based on a predetermined pattern of the marker M to be expressed and each position information of the marker. do. The marker M is preferably formed in a point shape that is most general and does not burden the visual field, but the shape is not limited thereto. In addition, the color and brightness of the marker M may be variously set.

In FIG. 2, only a virtual circle corresponding to the left eye of the display unit 110 is illustrated, and the marker M may be equally applied to both eyes.

According to an embodiment, the predetermined pattern of the marker M provided by the marker providing module 122 starts at the center A of the virtual circle C in which the marker M is provided to the display 110. By expressing to the first peripheral position, the expression from the first peripheral position back to the true center of the virtual circle, and then to the second peripheral position different from the first peripheral position may be repeated.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the marker M may be expressed as A → 1 → A → 2 → A → 3 starting from the center A of the imaginary circle C. In this case, preferably, the marker M is expressed at a random random distance in the radial direction and at a random angle that is not constant in the circumferential direction so that the subject of the visual field evaluation cannot predict the position of the marker to be expressed. You will be able to judge more effectively if you respond appropriately.

In this case, the marker M provided in one cycle may be repeatedly provided at least three times. For example, if the marker M is provided less than three times, it is difficult to properly evaluate the marker when the subject of the visual evaluation loses the movement of the marker instantaneously regardless of the degree of the visual evaluation of the user. This can happen. In addition, when the number of times the marker M is repeated increases, the time required for visual field evaluation may be excessive. Therefore, the marker M may be repeatedly provided at an appropriate number of times according to the visual field evaluator and the implementation form of the visual field evaluation device.

The eye tracking module 123 obtains the eyeball image obtained in real time through the image acquisition unit 130 from the display 110 through the wireless communication module 121 and extracts the movement path of the pupil in real time.

The eye tracking module 123 extracts the pupil from the eyeball image obtained through the image acquisition unit 130 in real time, extracts the pupil position information corresponding to the virtual circle from the extracted pupil, and extracts the pupil movement path in real time. Extract.

The visual field evaluation module 124 matches the pupil position information extracted by the eye tracking module 123 with the position information of the marker M provided to the display 110, and is preset for the marker M in which the pupil is expressed. The visual field of the visual field evaluation subject is evaluated by discriminating whether or not it reacts within the range. Here, the predetermined range refers to the position of the pupil that can be viewed as a medically normal category with respect to the expressed marker M, and may be a value set in consideration of individual deviation.

In addition, the marker providing module 122 repeatedly implements only the marker M information that fails to properly respond as a result of visual field evaluation by the visual field evaluation module 124, and the visual field evaluation module 124 provides additional information. Through this, it is possible to determine whether the subject of visual evaluation simply misses moving along the marker M or visual field disorder, thereby providing more accurate results.

In addition, in addition to the pupil position information extracted by the eye tracking module 123, the visual field evaluation module 124 may further determine the visual disturbance of the visual field evaluation subject by further considering the movement reaction speed of the eye.

For example, a rapid movement of eyes to see a point is called a saccade. In normal people, the incubation period is about 200 msec until the object is recognized and the actual eye movement occurs, and the speed of eye movement reaches up to about 700 ° / sec. In order for the eye to match the correct point normally, the secondary saccade occurs after the saccade that moves quickly to the nearest point of the target point. This movement is normally matched to the target by the saccade within three times.

Therefore, if there is a visual impairment, the proposed target point is not recognized. Therefore, the eye movement is maintained without moving from the center point, or the eye movement is unstable in an unspecified direction to find the target point. Speed is outside the normal range. In addition, even if the movement in the direction of the target point occurs at a normal range of speed, if three or more saccades occur to match the exact target point, this may not be a visual impairment but may be judged as an abnormal finding suggesting other cerebral lesions.

Therefore, even if the visual field evaluation module 124 reacts to the marker (M) in which the pupil is expressed within a preset range, the saccade for observing the marker (M) outside the preset speed range or expressing the expression of the movement of the eyeball. When the number of times is more than a predetermined number of times (for example, 3 to 5 or more times), it may be determined that the visual field is suspected.

3 is a flowchart of a method for evaluating visual field disorder through eye tracking according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a visual disturbance evaluation method for evaluating visual disturbance of a visual evaluation subject using eye tracking using a display unit according to an embodiment of the present invention provides a marker step (S100), eye tracking step It comprises a (S200) and the visual field evaluation step (S300).

In the providing of the marker (S100), the marker is expressed in a virtual circle of the display unit according to a pattern preset to the visual evaluation subject wearing the display unit. At this time, the marker is formed of dots, and the predetermined pattern is expressed in the peripheral position starting from the center of the virtual circle provided on the display unit, and is expressed in the center of the virtual circle again from the peripheral position and then different from the peripheral position. It may be to be expressed as. In this case, the marker may be repeatedly provided at least three times.

In the eye tracking step (S200), the eye of the subject of visual field evaluation, which moves according to the expression of the marker, is captured by the image acquisition unit, and the pupil position information is extracted from the captured eye image to extract the movement path of the pupil.

The visual field evaluation step S300 matches the position information of the pupil extracted in the eye tracking step S200 with the position information of the marker provided in the marker providing step S100 to react to the marker in which the pupil is expressed within a predetermined range. The visual field of the visual field evaluation subject is evaluated by discriminating.

In addition, the marker providing step (S100) is repeatedly performed only on the marker information that fails to properly respond as a result of the field evaluation by the field evaluation step (S300), and the eye tracking step (S200) and the field evaluation step (S300) are additionally performed. Through the information provided, it is possible to determine whether the subject of visual field evaluation simply misses moving along the marker A or visual field disorder to provide more accurate results.

If the point is not tracked, it can be determined that there is a visual impairment at that point. At this time, to exclude the possibility of false positive and false negative, the same point is presented at least three times at an unspecified time in the entire target point presentation sequence, and if it does not recognize the point repeatedly and does not cause eye movement to that point, it is judged abnormal. It is determined that there is a visual impairment at this point. These impaired points are displayed to indicate the overall visually impaired area.

In addition, the visual field evaluation step (S300) may determine whether the visual field of the subjects visual field disorder in consideration of the eye movement reaction speed in addition to the pupil position information. Specifically, the visual field evaluation step (S300) is to observe the marker (M) is out of the preset speed range or expressed expression even if the reaction to the marker (M) pupil expressed within a predetermined range If the number of saccades is more than a preset number, it may be determined as a suspected visual disturbance.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium having instructions executable by a processor for executing each step of the method for evaluating visual field disorder through eye tracking as shown in FIG. 3 may be provided. have.

On the other hand, the embodiments of the present invention disclosed in the specification and drawings are merely presented specific examples to easily explain the technical contents and help the understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention can be implemented in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims (8)

A display unit providing a marker expressed according to a predetermined pattern; An image acquiring unit acquiring an eye image of a subject of visual field evaluation looking at the marker; And A visual field for providing a signal for expressing a marker according to the predetermined pattern on the display unit, and receiving and analyzing an eye image of the visual evaluation subject obtained by the image acquisition unit to evaluate the visual field of the visual evaluation subject Apparatus for visual field disorder evaluation through eye tracking including an evaluation unit. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual field evaluation unit, A wireless communication module for performing wireless communication; A marker providing module for providing a signal for expressing a marker to a virtual circle on the display unit based on the predetermined pattern and position information of the marker; An eye tracking module for extracting pupils from the eyeball image obtained by the image acquisition unit, extracting pupil position information corresponding to the virtual circle, and extracting a movement path of the pupils; And An eyeball including a visual field evaluation module for matching the pupil position information extracted by the eye tracking module with the positional information of the marker to determine whether the pupil of the visual field evaluation target responds to the expressed marker within a predetermined range. Device for evaluating visual field disorder through tracking. The method of claim 2, The predetermined pattern is expressed in a first peripheral position starting from the center of the virtual circle, and the second peripheral position different from the first peripheral position after being expressed in the center of the virtual circle again from the first peripheral position. To be expressed is repeated, The marker is visually impaired evaluation apparatus through the eye tracking is expressed in a peripheral position having a random distance in the radial direction and a circumferential random in the center of the virtual circle. The method of claim 2, The visual field evaluation module determines whether visual field impairment of the visual field evaluation subject is considered in consideration of the pupil position information and the movement reaction speed of the eye, even if the pupil of the visual field evaluation subject reacts within a preset range. An apparatus for evaluating visual field disorder through eye tracking, which determines a suspected visual field disorder when an eye movement response speed is out of a predetermined speed range or a number of eye jumps for watching an expressed marker is more than a predetermined number. Providing a marker expressed according to a predetermined pattern through the display unit; Acquiring an eye image of a subject of visual field evaluation according to the expression of the marker through an image acquiring unit, and extracting pupil position information from the acquired eye image; And Visual field through eye tracking, comprising: matching the pupil position information with the position information of the marker to determine whether the pupil reacts within the predetermined range with respect to the expressed marker; Disability Assessment Method. The method of claim 5, The predetermined pattern is expressed in a first peripheral position starting from the exact center of the virtual circle on the display unit, and after being expressed in the positive center of the virtual circle again from the first peripheral position, the first pattern is different from the first peripheral position. 2 It is repeated to appear in the peripheral position, The marker is visually impaired evaluation method through the eye tracking is expressed in a peripheral position having a random distance in the radial direction and a circumferential random in the center of the virtual circle. The method of claim 5, The evaluating the visual field may determine whether the visual field disorder of the visual field evaluation subject is considered in consideration of the pupil position information and the eye reaction speed, and responds to a marker in which the pupil of the visual field evaluation subject is expressed within a predetermined range. Even if the eye movement reaction rate is out of a predetermined speed range or the number of eye jumps for watching the expressed marker is more than a predetermined number of times to determine visual field disorder through eye tracking. A computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon instructions executable by a processor for executing a method for evaluating visual field disorder through eye tracking according to claim 5.

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