A novel method for measuring saccade profiles using the scanning laser ophthalmoscope.
Most existing techniques for accurately measuring angular eye position vs time during a saccade (the saccade profile) need either contact to the eye or are restricted in time resolution. In this paper we introduce a new noninvasive method, with high spatial and temporal resolution, for determining saccade profiles using a scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO). This method uses the fact that images of a moving object taken with the SLO are not blurred (as are images from video cameras) but show a tilt with respect to images of the same stationary object. A mathematical framework is given that allows determination of a saccade profile from a restricted number of consecutive SLO video fields of the fundus during a saccade. The angular resolution obtained by this method is below 0.1 deg, and the maximum time resolution near 1 msec. Measured saccade profiles could be well approximated by a gamma function, the first derivative of which yields the saccade velocity profile. Measurements of peak saccade velocity as a function of saccade amplitudes (main sequence) using our method show good agreement with results obtained by other authors.
Stetter
M
M
Eye Clinic, University of Regensburg, Germany.
Sendtner
R A
RA
Timberlake
G T
GT
D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000379:methods*; D019721:Ophthalmoscopes; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors