Detecting Symptoms of Dementia in Elderly Persons using Features of Pupil Light Reflex

Abstract

A procedure for detecting cognitive impairment in senior citizens is examined using pupil light reflex (PLR) for chromatic light pulse and a portable measuring system. Features of PLRs of blue and red light pulses are compared. PLRs of elderly subjects were studied in order to develop a procedure for detection of the symptoms of cognitive function impairment using a dementia evaluation test. PLRs of both eyes were measured using blue and red light pulses aimed at either of the two eyes. The features of PLR waveforms for each eye were remained in comparable level for every group of participant. Three factor scores were calculated from the features, and a classification procedure for determining the level of dementia in a subject was created using regression analysis. As a result, the contribution of factor scores for blue light pulses according to a participant’s age was confirmed.