A wearable fiber Bragg grating-based eye-tracking device for monitoring saccadic eye movements for neurological assessments

Abstract

Brain disorders are one of the major causes of disability worldwide, which often lead to mortality as well. The early diagnosis can help in effectively distinguishing and tracking neurological disorders for more effective treatments. Fast eye movements, called saccades, are increasingly being considered as markers of neurological and mental status of the person; this study aims to develop a non-invasive, wearable, eye tracking methodology to track saccadic movements of the eyeball. The proposed eye-tracking device employs a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensor to acquire the minute strain variations experienced by the lower eyelid during eyeball movements. The inherent advantages such as fast response, high sensitivity towards minute strain variations, chemical and electrical inertness, etc. make of optical Fiber Bragg Gratings, very suitable for such biomedical sensing applications.