Our eyes are in continuous motion. Even when we attempt to fix our gaze, we produce so called “fixational eye movements”, which include microsaccades, drift, and ocular microtremor (OMT). Microsaccades, the largest and fastest type of fixational eye movement, shift the retinal image from several dozen to several hundred photoreceptors and have equivalent physical characteristics to saccades, only on a smaller scale (Martinez-Conde, Otero-Millan & Macknik, 2013). OMT occurs simultaneously with drift and is the smallest of the fixational eye movements (∼1 photoreceptor width, >0.5 arcmin), with dominant frequencies ranging from 70 Hz to 103 Hz (Martinez-Conde, Macknik & Hubel, 2004). Due to OMT’s small amplitude and high frequency, the most accurate and stringent way to record it is the piezoelectric transduction method. Thus, OMT studies are far rarer than those focusing on microsaccades or drift. Here we conducted simultaneous recordings of OMT and microsaccades with a piezoelectric device and a commercial infrared video tracking system. We set out to determine whether OMT could help to restore perceptually faded targets during attempted fixation, and we also wondered whether the piezoelectric sensor could affect the characteristics of microsaccades. Our results showed that microsaccades, but not OMT, counteracted perceptual fading. We moreover found that the piezoelectric sensor affected microsaccades in a complex way, and that the oculomotor system adjusted to the stress brought on by the sensor by adjusting the magnitudes of microsaccades.

Ocular microtremor (OMT) is a physiological high frequency (up to 150Hz) low amplitude (150-2500nm) involuntary tremor of the human eye. It is one of the three fixational ocular motions described by Adler and Fliegelman in 1934 as well as microsaccades and drift. Clinical OMT investigations to date have used eye-contacting piezoelectric probes or piezoelectric strain gauges. Before contact can be made, the eye must first be anaesthetised. In some cases, this induces eyelid spasms (blepharospasm) making it impossible to measure OMT. Using the contact probe method, the eye motion is mechanically damped. In addition to this, it is not possible to obtain exact information about the displacement. Results from clinical studies to date have given electrical signal amplitudes from the probe. Recent studies suggest a number of clinical applications for OMT, these include monitoring the depth of anaesthesia of a patient in surgery, prediction of outcome in coma, diagnosis of brainstem death. In addition to this, abnormal OMT frequency content is present in patients with neurological disorders such as Multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. However for ongoing clinical investigations the contact probe method falls short of a non-contact accurate measurement solution. In this paper, we design a compact non contact phase modulating optical fiber speckle interferometer to measure eye motions. We present our calibration results using a calibrated piezoelectric vibration simulator. Digital signal processing is then performed to extract the low amplitude high frequency displacement information.

Ocular microtremor (OMT) is a physiological high-frequency (up to 150 Hz) low-amplitude (25-2500 nm peak-to-peak) involuntary motion of the human eye. Recent studies suggest a number of clinical applications for OMT that include monitoring the depth of anesthesia of a patient in surgery, prediction of outcome in coma, and diagnosis of brain stem death. Clinical OMT investigations to date have used mechanical piezoelectric probes or piezoelectric strain gauges that have many drawbacks which arise from the fact that the probe is in contact with the eye. We describe the design of a compact noncontact sensing device to measure OMT that addresses some of the above drawbacks. We evaluate the system performance using a calibrated piezoelectric vibrator that simulates OMT signals under conditions that can occur in practice, i.e., wet eye conditions. We also test the device at low light levels well within the eye safety range.

Ocular microtremor (OMT) is a biological high frequency (up to 150Hz) low amplitude (25-2500nm peak to peak) involuntary motion of the human eye. Clinical OMT investigations to date have used eye-contacting mechanical piezoelectric probes or piezoelectric strain gauges. Before contact can be made, the eye must first be anaesthetized. In some cases, this eyelid spasms occur making it impossible to measure OMT. Using the contact probe method, the eye motion is mechanically loaded. Results from clinical studies with this method to date have given electrical signal amplitudes from the probe proportional to the displacement, but not the exact displacement information. Recent studies suggest a number of clinical applications for OMT, these include monitoring the depth of anesthesia of a patient in surgery, prediction of outcome in coma, diagnosis of brain stem death. In addition to this, in patients with neurological disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, abnormal OMT frequency content is present. In this paper, we design a compact non-contact phase modulating optical fiber speckle interferometer to measure eye motions. We simulate OMT motion using a calibrated piezoelectric vibration simulator and compare results produced using a contact method with those using our optical non-contact method.

Contact techniques exist to measure low amplitude low frequency mechanical vibration, however, by mechanically loading the system of interest, they affect the measured results. In this paper, we design a compact non-contact optical fiber speckle interferometer to measure inplane displacements. We implement this under laboratory conditions, and present our calibration results, measuring low-amplitude microvibrations from 0.34 nm to 1.5 mu m over a frequency range from 10 Hz to 150 Hz.