OPERATOR ALERTNESS MONITORING USING THE PUPIL LIGHT REFLEX

A KEY FACTOR IN THE ABILITY TO SAFELY OPERATE A TRAIN IS THEOPERATOR ALERTNESS. OPERATOR ALERTNESS CAN BE COMPROMISED AS A RESULT OF FATIGUE, SUBSTANCE ABUSE OR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS. A DEVICE THAT WOULD OBJECTIVELY REPORT A PERSONS STATE OF ALERTNESS COULD INDICATE THAT PERSONS FITNESS FOR DUTY, FOR EXAMPLE, AT THE BEGINNING OF A SHIFT. IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT ALERTNESS IS HIGHLY CORRELATED WITH VARIOUS DYNAMICS OF THE EYE. PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS TO USE EYE MOVEMENTS AND BLINKS HAVE NOT HAD SUFFICIENT SENSITIVITY OR SPECIFICITY FOR GENERAL USE. THIS IS IN LARGE PART DUE TO THE INABILITY OF THESE MEASUREMENTS TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEENTHE SYMPATHETIC AND THE PARASYMPATHETIC SYSTEMS. THE PRESENT STUDY PROPOSES TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFICACY OF USING THE PUPIL LIGHT REFLEX. THE REACTION DYNAMICS OF THE PUPIL ALLOWS THE SEPARATION OF THE EFFECTS OF THE OPPOSITE LIMBS OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEMS. THE BALANCE OF THESE COMPLIMENTARY SYSTEMS IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO ALERTNESS. IF THE MEASUREMENT OF PUPIL DYNAMICS PROVES TO BE A RELIABLEINDICATOR ALERTNESS, THE TECHNIQUES DEVELOPED BY THIS STUDY WOULD HAVE WIDE APPLICABILITY TO FITNESS FOR DUTY MONITORINGFOR SAFETY RELATED JOBS TRANSPORTATION AND OTHER COMMERCIAL SECTORS.