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Soft, wireless periocular wearable electronics for real-time detection of eye vergence in a virtual reality toward mobile eye therapies

Mishra, Saswat, Kim, Yun-Soung, Intarasirisawat, Jittrapol, Kwon, Young-Tae, Lee, Yongkuk, Mahmood, Musa, Lim, Hyo-Ryoung, Yu, Ki Jun, Chee Siang, Ang, Yeo, Woon-Hong and others. (2020) Soft, wireless periocular wearable electronics for real-time detection of eye vergence in a virtual reality toward mobile eye therapies. Science Advances, 6 (11). Article Number eaay1729. E-ISSN 2375-2548. (doi:10.1126/sciadv.aay1729) (KAR id:78119)

Abstract

Ocular disorders are currently affecting the developed world, causing loss of productivity in adults and children. While the cause of such disorders is not clear, neurological issues are often considered as the biggest possibility. Treatment of strabismus and vergence requires an invasive surgery or clinic-based vision therapy that has been used for decades due to the lack of alternatives such as portable therapeutic tools. Recent advancement in electronic packaging and image processing techniques have opened the possibility for optics-based portable eye tracking approaches, but several technical and safety hurdles limit the implementation of the technology in wearable applications. Here, we introduce a fully wearable, wireless soft electronic system that offers a portable, highly sensitive tracking of eye movements (vergence) via the combination of skin-conformal sensors and a virtual reality system. Advancement of material processing and printing technologies based on aerosol jet printing enables reliable manufacturing of skin-like sensors, while a flexible electronic circuit is prepared by the integration of chip components onto a soft elastomeric membrane. Analytical and computational study of a data classification algorithm provides a highly accurate tool for real-time detection and classification of ocular motions. In vivo demonstration with 14 human subjects captures the potential of the wearable electronics as a portable therapy system, which can be easily synchronized with a virtual reality headset.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1126/sciadv.aay1729
Subjects: Q Science
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences > School of Engineering and Digital Arts
Depositing User: Jim Ang
Date Deposited: 31 Oct 2019 14:32 UTC
Last Modified: 04 Jul 2023 12:57 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/78119 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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