Calibration Tools For PC-Based Vision Assessment

描述（由申请人提供）：在第一阶段STTR中，先进医疗电子公司和JHU狮子视觉中心正在合作创建一个硬件工具包，该工具包将允许个人电脑用作精确校准和控制的视觉测试仪器。该工具包基于这样一个事实，即现代pc和显示器（基于crt或平面屏幕）具有足够的计算能力、分辨率和稳定性，可以作为可靠的测量工具。使用PC进行视觉测试的一个主要优点是测量软件可以配备高水平的容错能力。自动化测试程序包括无标准和强制选择程序、捕捉试验、贝叶斯阈值近似和其他复杂的心理物理技术，可以大大减轻对训练有素的技术人员的需求，操作员的主要任务可以是确保测试对象是合作的。但是，这种容错能力不会自动扩展到硬件的设置和校准。屏幕强度和色度、测试距离、房间照明和许多其他变量都会对测试阈值产生显著影响，即使是在相同条件下在同一台PC上测试同一受试者。我们建议开发一套简单的硬件工具和控制软件，使必要的硬件校准和设置能够快速，可靠，可重复地执行，并且对操作员进行非常适度的培训。在这个第一阶段的应用程序中，我们将设计一个原型工具包，其中包括基于现成组件的硬件和具有相对原始用户界面的软件。在随后的第二期申请中，我们将开发一个完全集成的硬件原型，一个具有用户友好界面的容错软件包，以及详细的产品开发和商业化计划。这个STTR程序的最终产品将分为两部分：一个单用户版本，允许心理物理学家、实验心理学家、验光师和其他专业人员校准他们的个人电脑，以进行任何视觉功能测试；以及一个OEM版本，可以由任何视觉功能测试软件开发人员打包，为临床医生、农村卫生中心、学区等提供一个交钥匙测试系统。这种包装的视力测试和工具包将为几乎任何可以设置PC的地方带来精确和有效的视力评估的好处。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In this phase I STTR, Advanced Medical Electronics Corp. and the JHU Lions Vision Center are teaming up to create a hardware toolkit that will allow personal computers to be used as accurately calibrated and controlled vision test instruments. This toolkit is predicated on the fact that modern PCs and displays (either CRT-based or flat screen) have sufficient computing power, resolution, and stability to function as reliable measurement tools. A major advantage of PC use for vision testing is that measurement software can be equipped with a high level of fault tolerance. Automated test routines including criterion-free and forced-choice procedures, catch trials, Bayesian threshold approximation, and other sophisticated psychophysical techniques can greatly alleviate the need for highly-trained technicians, and the operator's main task can be to make sure that the test subject is cooperative. This fault tolerance does not automatically extend to the setup and calibration of hardware, however. Screen intensity and chromaticity, test distance, room illumination, and a number of other variables can have a significant effect on test thresholds, even when testing the same subject on the same PC under similar conditions. We propose to develop a set of simple hardware tools and control software that will allow necessary hardware calibrations and setup to be performed quickly, reliably, reproducibly, and with a very modest level of training on the part of the operator. Under this phase I application we will design a prototype toolkit with hardware based on off-the-shelf components and software with a relatively primitive user interface. Under the subsequent phase II application we will develop a fully integrated hardware prototype, a fault-tolerant software package with a user-friendly interface, and a detailed product development and commercialization plan. The final product of this STTR program will be 2 fold: A single user version that allows psychophysicists, experimental psychologists, optometrists, and other professionals to calibrate their PCs for any visual function test purpose; and an OEM version that can be packaged by any visual function test software developer to deliver a turn-key test system for clinicians, rural health centers, school districts, etc. Such packaged vision tests and toolkits will bring the benefit of precise and efficient vision assessment to almost any place where a PC can be set up.