Integrating Eye-Tracking with Cortical Visual Prostheses in Patients without Eyes: A Case Study.

IF 5.2 2区 医学 Q2 ENGINEERING, BIOMEDICAL
Dorota Waclawczyk, Leili Soo, Roberto Morollon Ruiz, Avi Caspi, Eduardo Fernandez Jover
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Abstract

Cortical prostheses aim to provide artificial vision to blind individuals by electrically stimulating the occipital cortex to induce visual sensations called phosphenes. Previous research demonstrates that phosphene location is influenced by gaze position, despite fixed electrode placement in the occipital cortex. However, for patients without eyes, it is unclear whether intended eye movements can still modulate phosphene location and, if they do, whether these movements can be accurately recorded and incorporated into prosthetic control algorithms. As part of a clinical trial using intracortical electrical stimulation via a Utah array implanted into the early occipital cortex as a visual prosthesis interface, we had the opportunity to study a patient who lost both eyes due to traumatic injury. This patient currently wears cosmetic eyes. We initially investigated whether intended eye movements modulated the perceived location of phosphenes, and upon confirming their influence, we explored the possibilities for tracking these movements. We recorded the intended eye movements in four cardinal directions using electrooculogram (EOG) and a video-based eye-tracking system. These recordings were then compared with data obtained from a sighted control participant. Our results demonstrated the feasibility of tracking cosmetic eye movements and revealed a significant correlation between eye position and perceived phosphene locations. Then, we conducted behavioral search experiments in which the patient used intended eye movements to locate target objects present on a screen. The results show that the patient's ability to accurately identify object locations using eye movements as recorded in real time with a video-based tracker on a cosmetic eye. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating gaze position into future visual prostheses, even in patients without eyes.

在无眼患者中整合眼动追踪与皮质视觉假体:个案研究。
皮质假肢旨在通过电刺激枕叶皮层来诱导被称为光幻视的视觉感觉,为盲人提供人工视觉。先前的研究表明,尽管固定电极放置在枕叶皮层,但注视位置会影响光幻视的位置。然而,对于没有眼睛的患者,目前尚不清楚预期的眼球运动是否仍然可以调节磷光体的位置,如果可以,这些运动是否可以准确地记录并纳入假肢控制算法。作为临床试验的一部分,通过将Utah阵列植入早期枕皮质作为视觉假体界面,使用皮质内电刺激,我们有机会研究一位因创伤性损伤失去双眼的患者。这个病人现在戴着整容眼。我们最初调查了是否有意的眼球运动调节了光幻视的感知位置,在确认了它们的影响后,我们探索了追踪这些运动的可能性。我们使用眼电图(EOG)和基于视频的眼球追踪系统记录了四个基本方向的预期眼球运动。然后将这些记录与从视力正常的对照组参与者那里获得的数据进行比较。我们的研究结果证明了跟踪美容眼运动的可行性,并揭示了眼睛位置与感知到的磷光体位置之间的显著相关性。然后,我们进行了行为搜索实验,在实验中,患者使用预期的眼球运动来定位屏幕上的目标物体。研究结果表明,患者通过眼部运动准确识别物体位置的能力,眼部运动是由化妆眼上的视频跟踪器实时记录的。这些发现强调了将凝视位置纳入未来视觉假体的重要性,即使对没有眼睛的患者也是如此。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
8.60
自引率
8.20%
发文量
479
审稿时长
6-12 weeks
期刊介绍: Rehabilitative and neural aspects of biomedical engineering, including functional electrical stimulation, acoustic dynamics, human performance measurement and analysis, nerve stimulation, electromyography, motor control and stimulation; and hardware and software applications for rehabilitation engineering and assistive devices.
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