SBIR-STTR Award

Research Related to Developing a Visual Testing Device
Award last edited on: 12/23/14

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
NIH : NEI
Total Award Amount
$350,000
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
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Principal Investigator
Edward M Brussell

Company Information

Q-T Products Inc

202-11 Jamaica Avenue
Hollis, NY 11423
   (212) 479-5858
   N/A
   N/A
Location: Single
Congr. District: 05
County: Queens

Phase I

Contract Number: 1R43EY005584-01
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase I year
1984
Phase I Amount
$50,000
Qualitative advances in computer technology have leveled off enough to justify development of a multiuser, multifunction comprehensive visual testing instrument for ophthalmologists, visual scientists, and optometrists. Such a system could be developed with relative ease were it not for the industry standard refresh rate for generating video images. Unfortunately, 60 Hertz is too slow for creating the visual stimuli needed to assess temporal aspects of vision.Cost-effective alternatives to the more obvious solutions that involve modifying or redesigning hardware are possible. They entail generating images that contain fewer lines, but that are painted at a faster rate. This solution, however, begs the empirical question of how a sacrifice of vertical resolution in a stimulus image will influence visual performance. Therefore, research is proposed to provide the data to answer this question. Specifically, the influence of the number of stimuli presented at one time (stimulus uncertainty) and the density of lit pixels per unit area of a stimulus image (spatial summation) on a temporal resolution task known as Multi-Flash Campimetry will be investigated.National Eye Institute

Phase II

Contract Number: 2R44EY005584-02
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase II year
1985
Phase II Amount
$300,000
One thrust of the Phase II effort will be directed towards building an eye tracker that is fully integrated into the visual testing system being developed. In particular, an eye movement response indicator will be incorporated into a clinical psychophysical technique known as multi-flash campimetry; a rapid and reliable procedure for assessing temporal resolution in 120 points per eye. When implemented, a subject would only have to look at a point that is seen to flicker, rather than respond manually. Furthermore, the acquisition of eye position information would allow fixation to be monitored during the test, and the display to be shifted to compensate for small fixation errors. During Year I, while the tracker is being developed, normative multi-flash data will be collected from eight patient populations as well as from age categorized control groups, using a conventional manual response. During Year II, multi-flash data will be collected from four patient populations and age matched controls, using both manual key presses and eye movements to indicate flicker. This will allow the eye movement response indicator to be validated, and an attempt made to partition sources of visual impairment into their afferent and efferent components.

Thesaurus Terms:
biomedical engineering, instrumentation clinically oriented, biomedical systems automated, computer assisted diagnosis, eye disorders diagnosis, vision tests, flicker fusion, computer programming computer, design and evaluation of computers (incl. hardware), diagnostic tests, non-invasive, eye movements, psychophysics human, clinical