W5170124C0119

Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) Phase I

N.I.C.E.: Neuro-Vigilance Integrated Contact Eye Lens

Cognitive fatigue and stress are currently assessed with either wired or wrist devices capturing skin conductance, motion, and heart rate, yet these are not accurate measurements and are not airworthy. Many existing tools are limited by only 6-10 hours of battery life. No contact lens technology currently exists to detect pupil diameter and eye movement simultaneously. Most studies targeting eye movement use optical or image processing approaches, which are cumbersome to house and power and are hardly portable. Unfortunately, existing pupillometric technology is not portable given that it requires the use of bulky, power-hungry, head-fixed devices with optics, high-speed video cameras, and data processing hardware to measure pupil diameter while accounting for light exposure and eye movements. The proposed contact lens tech is designed based on micro technology developed on a thin film of the regular contact-lens material of polydimethylsiloxane. A novel coil will be made, greatly enhancing powering efficiency and biocompatibility. A smart nano-based sensor will be integrated into the device. All circuits will be arranged in an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip that will be thinned down to be flexible. The lens itself can measure pupil diameters indirectly and eye movement via the misalignment.

The goal of phase I is to establish the technical merit, feasibility, and commercial potential of proposed R&D efforts and determine the quality of performance of the small business awardee organization.

A244-002

A244-002-0059

24.4

Russell Hoffing