EP-4734819-A1 - SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASURING EYE CONTRIBUTION TO BINOCULAR VISION

EP4734819A1EP 4734819 A1EP4734819 A1EP 4734819A1EP-4734819-A1

Abstract

A method of evaluating a binocular imbalance between left and right eyes of a subject, is provided. The method includes selecting a stimulus condition including quality values selected from a numerical scale that quantifies a perceptible quality of an image; concurrently displaying a plurality of images to the subject based on the stimulus condition, the plurality of images including a left-eye image and a right- eye image displayed with their perceptible qualities defined by the quality values; receiving an input from the subject sequentially ranking an apparent perceived quality of the plurality of images; and calculating a scaling factor defining a relative imbalance in subjective quality between the subject's left eye and right eye, based on the sequential ranking. A corresponding system and computer-readable medium are also provided.

Inventors

BALDWIN, Alexander Scott
HESS, Robert Francis

Assignees

The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning / McGill University

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20240628

Claims (16)

CLAIMS 1. A method of evaluating a binocular imbalance between left and right eyes of a subject, the method comprising steps of: i) selecting a stimulus condition including a left-eye set comprising at least one left quality value, and a right-eye set comprising at least one right quality value, the left quality value and the right quality value being selected from a numerical scale that quantifies a perceptible quality of an image; ii) concurrently displaying a plurality of images to the subject based on the stimulus condition, the plurality of images including a left-eye image set comprising at least one image presented only to the left eye of the subject and a right-eye image set comprising at least one image presented only to the right eye of the subject, each image of the left- eye image set being displayed with the perceptible quality defined by a corresponding member of the at least one left quality value, and each image of the right-eye image set being displayed with the perceptible quality defined by a corresponding member of the at least one right quality value; iii) receiving an input from the subject sequentially ranking an apparent perceived quality of the plurality of images; and iv) calculating a scaling factor defining a relative imbalance in subjective quality between the subject’s left eye and right eye, based on the sequential ranking of the plurality of images.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein: the left-eye image set comprises a plurality of left-eye images; the right-eye image set comprises a plurality of right-eye images; the left-eye set comprises a plurality of left quality values each associated with a respective one of the plurality of left-eye images; the right-eye set comprises a plurality of right quality values each associated with a respective one of the plurality of right-eye images; and step ii) includes concurrently displaying the plurality of left-eye images each with its associated one of the plurality of left quality values, and the plurality of right-eye images each with its associated one of the plurality of right quality values.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the scaling factor comprises estimating probabilities of the sequential ranking corresponding to a plurality of potential scaling factor values, and selecting one of the plurality of potential scaling factor values having a maximum likelihood.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising performing a plurality of iterations of steps i) to iv), wherein in each iteration a new stimulus condition is selected in step i), and wherein step iv) comprises maintaining ongoing estimates of the likelihood of the potential scaling factor values and updating the ongoing estimates after each iteration.
5. The method of claim 4, comprising performing the plurality of iterations with new stimulus conditions until either: (a) a predetermined confidence interval limit of the calculated scaling factor is reached after a predetermined minimum number of iterations; or (b) a predetermined maximum number of iterations is reached.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein in each iteration, the new stimulus condition is selected in step i) using an entropy-minimizing procedure that seeks to minimize the number of iterations required to reach the predetermined confidence interval limit of the calculated scaling factor.
7. The method of claim 3, wherein the probabilities of the sequential ranking corresponding to the plurality of the potential scaling factor values are estimated using pre-generated lookup-tables.
8. The method of claim 2, wherein one of the plurality of left images and one of the plurality of right images have a maximum quality.
9. The method of claim 2, wherein the input from the subject correspond to a ranking of a subset of the plurality of images, and wherein the method further comprises generating a complete sequential ranking of the plurality of images by randomly ranking remaining images of the plurality of images for which an input from the subject was not received.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the perceptible quality is at least one of contrast, blur, and distortion.
11. A computing system for evaluating a binocular imbalance between left and right eyes of a subject, comprising: at least one display; at least one user input; and a processor operatively coupled to the at least one display and the at least one user input, the processor being configured to: i) select a stimulus condition including a left-eye set comprising at least one left quality value, and a right-eye set comprising at least one right quality value, the left quality value and the right quality value being selected from a numerical scale that quantifies a perceptible quality of an image; ii) concurrently display, via the at least one display, a plurality of images to the subject based on the stimulus condition, the plurality of images including a left-eye image set comprising at least one image presented only to the left eye of the subject and a right-eye image set comprising at least one image presented only to the right eye of the subject, each image of the left-eye image set being displayed with the perceptible quality defined by a corresponding member of the at least one left quality value, and each image of the right-eye image set being displayed with the perceptible quality defined by a corresponding member of the at least one right quality value; iii) receive an input from the subject, via the at least one user input, sequentially ranking an apparent perceived quality of the plurality of images; and iv) calculate a scaling factor defining a relative imbalance in subjective quality between the subject’s left eye and right eye, based on the sequential ranking of the plurality of images.
12. The system of claim 11, comprising a touch-enabled display implementing the at least one display and the at least one user input.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein the display comprises a lenticular display.
14. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one display comprises a first display for displaying images of the left-eye image set to the subject’s left eye, and a second display for displaying images right-eye image set to the subject’s right eye.
15. The system of claim 11, further comprising polarized, anaglyph or active- shutter glasses configured to cooperate with the display to selectively display the images of the left-eye image set only to the left eye of the subject, and to selectively display the images of the right-eye image set only to the right eye of the subject.
16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions thereon which, when executed by at least one processor of a computing system, cause the computing system to perform a method comprising: i) selecting a stimulus condition including a left-eye set comprising at least one left quality value, and a right-eye set comprising at least one right quality value, the left quality value and the right quality value being selected from a numerical scale that quantifies a perceptible quality of an image; ii) concurrently displaying a plurality of images to a subject based on the stimulus condition, the plurality of images including a left-eye image set comprising at least one image presented only to a left eye of the subject and a right-eye image set comprising at least one image presented only to a right eye of the subject, each image of the left- eye image set being displayed with the perceptible quality defined by a corresponding member of the at least one left quality value, and each image of the right-eye image set being displayed with the perceptible quality defined by a corresponding member of the at least one right quality value; iii) receiving an input from the subject sequentially ranking an apparent perceived quality of the plurality of images; and iv) calculating a scaling factor defining a relative imbalance in subjective quality between the subject’s left eye and right eye, based on the sequential ranking of the plurality of images.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASURING EYE CONTRIBUTION TO BINOCULAR VISION TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present disclosure generally relates to evaluating human vision. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a system and method for measuring each eye’s contribution to binocular vision to evaluate interocular differences or imbalances between the left and right eyes of a subject. BACKGROUND [0002] In typical human vision, the inputs from the two eyes of a person are combined in the brain to give a unified perception of the outside world. This process involves aspects of binocular combination, where the information from the two eyes is added together, and interocular suppression, where the inputs from the two eyes compete with each other. [0003] The unified “binocular” vision that results from this process is superior to the “monocular” vision that occurs when only one eye is used. Visual performance is improved on a variety of tasks. Stereopsis, the comparison of the two eyes’ inputs to make three-dimensional judgements of distance, becomes possible. [0004] Certain visual disorders can affect the way in which the two eyes’ inputs are processed. A common visual disorder, amblyopia (or “lazy eye”), involves an imbalance in how the inputs from the two eyes are processed. Recent studies provide evidence that the binocular imbalance in amblyopia plays a primary role in the condition. Methods to address this imbalance have been incorporated into novel therapies that attempt to re-train the binocularity of amblyopic patients. [0005] Therefore, there is a need for a method of determining or quantifying the relative strength and quality of the two eyes’ contribution to binocular vision, so that binocular imbalance can subsequently be treated or corrected. SUMMARY [0006] According to an aspect of the disclosure, a method of evaluating imbalance between a contribution of a left eye of a subject and a contribution of a right eye of a subject to binocular vision is provided. The method comprises a step of selecting a stimulus condition, including a set of images shown to one eye and a second set shown to the other eye. These images vary in a quality of interest (e.g. having different luminance contrast). The method further comprises a step of concurrently displaying a plurality of images to the subject based on the stimulus condition, the plurality of images including a left-eye image set comprising at least one image presented only to a left eye of the subject and a right-eye image set comprising at least one image presented only to a right eye of the subject, each image of the left eye image set being displayed with a quality (e.g. its luminance range for the case of luminance contrast) defined by a corresponding one of the at least one left eye quality values (e.g. a set of luminance contrasts), and each image of the right-eye image set being displayed with a quality defined by a corresponding one of the at least one right eye quality values. The method further comprises steps of receiving an input from the subject sequentially ranking the subjective perceived quality of the plurality of images (e.g. their visibility when the images vary in contrast), and calculating a scaling factor defining a relative imbalance in the visual processing between the subject’s left eye and right eye, based on the sequential ranking of the plurality of images. [0007] According to an aspect, a method of evaluating a binocular imbalance between left and right eyes of a subject is provided. The method includes: i) selecting a stimulus condition including a left-eye set comprising at least one left quality value, and a right-eye set comprising at least one right quality value, the left quality value and the right quality value being selected from a numerical scale that quantifies a perceptible quality of an image; ii) concurrently displaying a plurality of images to the subject based on the stimulus condition, the plurality of images including a left-eye image set comprising at least one image presented only to a left eye of the subject and a right-eye image set comprising at least one image presented only to a right eye of the subject, each image of the left-eye image set being displayed with the perceptible quality defined by a corresponding member of the at least one left quality value, and each image of the right-eye image set being displayed with the perceptible quality defined by a corresponding member of the at least one right quality value; iii) receiving an input from the subject sequentially ranking an apparent perceived quality of the plurality of images; and iv) calculating a scaling factor defining a relative imbalance in subjective quality between the subject’s left eye and right eye, based on the sequential ranking of the plurality of images. [0008] According to an aspect, a computing system for evaluating a binocular imbalance between left and right eyes of a subject is provided. The system inclujdes: at least one display;