Unobtrusive active eye interrogation

Abstract

Methods and systems for determining a physiological parameter of a subject through interrogation of an eye of the subject with an optical signal are described. Interrogation is performed unobtrusively. The physiological parameter is determined from a signal sensed from the eye of a subject according to a schedule, under the control of a scheduling controller.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 - 397 . (canceled) 
     
     
         398 . A method of measuring information from an eye of a subject, comprising:
 delivering an interrogation signal to the eye of the subject with a noncontact interrogation signal source located remote from the subject within a visual field of the eye of the subject;   detecting a response signal from the eye of the subject with a noncontact response signal sensor located remote from the subject within the visual field of the eye of the subject;   determining whether the eye of the subject is in alignment with respect to at least one of the interrogation signal source and the response signal sensor; and   determining a physiological parameter of the subject from the response signal detected from the eye of the subject when the eye of the subject is in alignment with respect to the at least one of the interrogation signal source and the response signal sensor.   
     
     
         399 . The method of  claim 398 , including delivering the interrogation signal to the eye of the subject with the interrogation signal source only when the eye of the subject is in alignment with the interrogation signal source and the response signal sensor. 
     
     
         400 . The method of  claim 398 , wherein the physiological parameter is a measurement of at least one of a substance in the blood of the subject, a substance in an aqueous humor of the subject, oxygen, glucose, a salt, a protein, a lipid, a gas, a measurement of a hormone, a drug, a pulse rate, a blood flow, a temperature. 
     
     
         401 . The method of  claim 398 , including determining the physiological parameter of the subject from the response signal detected from the eye of the subject according to a programmed schedule, wherein the programmed schedule is personalized for the subject, selected from among at least two pre-programmed schedules based upon at least one attribute of the subject, or selected from among at least two pre-programmed schedules based upon the physiological parameter. 
     
     
         402 . The method of  claim 398 , including utilizing the physiological parameter determined from the response signal for at least one of assessing an emotional state of the subject, assessing the alertness of the subject, a medical-related application, a health-related application, a business application or a security application. 
     
     
         403 . The method of  claim 398 , including presenting an input to the subject and utilizing the physiological parameter determined from the response signal to determine a response of the subject to the input, wherein the input includes at least one of information, advertising information, marketing research information, print information, video information, an auditory stimulus, a visual stimulus, a tactile stimulus, an olfactory stimulus, a gustatory stimulus, a thermal stimulus, a neural stimulus, a drug, a pharmaceutical, or a nutraceutical. 
     
     
         404 . The method of  claim 398 , including receiving at least one of an instruction, authorization, or informed consent from the subject or a representative of the subject for information to be measured. 
     
     
         405 . The method of  claim 398 , including determining an identity of the subject through at least one facial recognition, retinal recognition, or comparing login information entered by the subject with login information in a registry. 
     
     
         406 . The method of  claim 398 , including delivering the interrogation signal and detecting the response signal during use by the subject of a device incorporating a display. 
     
     
         407 . The method of  claim 406 , wherein the device incorporating the display includes a television, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a telephone, a wristwatch, a wristband, an armband, a cuff, a sleeve, an article of furniture, an article of exercise equipment, or a vehicle. 
     
     
         408 . An article of manufacture comprising:
 one or more non-transitory machine-readable data storage media bearing one or more instructions for
 delivering an interrogation signal to an eye of the subject with a noncontact interrogation signal source located remote from the subject within a visual field of the eye of the subject; 
 detecting a response signal from the eye of the subject with a noncontact response signal sensor located remote from the subject within a visual field of the eye of the subject; 
 determining whether the eye of the subject is in alignment with respect to at least one of the interrogation signal source and the response signal sensor; and 
 processing the response signal detected from the eye of the subject when the eye of the subject is in alignment with respect to the at least one of the interrogation signal source and the response signal sensor to determine a physiological parameter of the subject from the response signal. 
   
     
     
         409 . The article of manufacture of  claim 408 , wherein the one or more non-transitory machine-readable data storage media bear one or more instructions for at least one of determining the physiological parameter of the subject from the response signal detected from the eye of the subject at one or more set times, determining the physiological parameter of the subject from the response signal detected from the eye of the subject at a set time interval, or determining the physiological parameter of the subject from the response signal detected from the eye of the subject according to a programmed schedule. 
     
     
         410 . The article of manufacture of  claim 408 , wherein the one or more non-transitory machine-readable data storage media bear one or more instructions for determining the physiological parameter of the subject from the response signal detected from the eye of the subject according to a programmed schedule, wherein the one or more non-transitory machine-readable data storage media bear at least one of one or more instructions for selecting the programmed schedule from among at least two pre-programmed schedules based upon at least one attribute of the subject or one or more instructions for selecting the programmed schedule from among at least two pre-programmed schedules based upon the physiological parameter. 
     
     
         411 . The article of manufacture of  claim 408 , wherein the one or more non-transitory machine-readable data storage media bear one or more instructions for sharing at least one of information regarding the subject, information regarding the system used for determining the physiological parameter, or information regarding the physiological parameter between two of more data processing systems. 
     
     
         412 . The article of manufacture of  claim 411 , wherein the one or more non-transitory machine-readable data storage media bear one or more instructions for presenting information to the subject, wherein the information includes at least one of advertising information, marketing research information, print information, video information. 
     
     
         413 . The article of manufacture of  claim 408 , wherein the one or more non-transitory machine-readable data storage media bear one or more instructions for presenting a stimulus to a subject, wherein the stimulus includes at least one of an auditory stimulus, a visual stimulus, a tactile stimulus, an olfactory stimulus, a gustatory stimulus, a thermal stimulus, or a neural stimulus. 
     
     
         414 . The article of manufacture of  claim 408 , wherein the one or more non-transitory machine-readable data storage media bear at least one of one or more instructions for determining the identity of the subject by facial recognition, one or more instructions for determining the identity of the subject through the use of retinal recognition, or one or more instructions for determining the identity of the subject by comparing login information entered by the subject with login information in a registry. 
     
     
         415 . The article of manufacture of  claim 408 , wherein the one or more non-transitory machine-readable data storage media bear one or more instructions for collecting samples of the physiological parameter according to a schedule under the direction of a scheduling controller. 
     
     
         416 . The article of manufacture of  claim 415 , wherein the one or more non-transitory machine-readable data storage media bear at least one of one or more instructions for collecting a predetermined number of samples of the physiological parameter during a sampling period, one or more instructions for collecting samples of the physiological parameter with at least a minimum sampling interval between samples, one or more instructions for modifying a procedure for collecting a sample of the physiological parameter if a predetermined number of samples meeting at least one acceptance criterion has not been collected within a predetermined portion of the sampling period, one or more instructions for modifying a procedure for collecting a sample of the physiological parameter by modifying an acceptance criterion, one or more instructions for modifying a procedure for collecting a sample of the physiological parameter by modifying a signal-to-noise ratio criterion, or one or more instructions for modifying a procedure for collecting a sample of the physiological parameter by modifying a sampling interval criterion. 
     
     
         417 . The article of manufacture of  claim 415 , wherein the one or more non-transitory machine-readable data storage media bear one or more instructions for
 receiving a gaze signal containing information indicative of a gaze direction of the eye of the subject;   determining the gaze direction of the eye of the subject based upon the gaze signal;   determining whether the eye of the subject is in alignment with respect to at least one of the interrogation signal source and the response signal sensor based at least in part upon the gaze direction; and   determining whether the eye of the subject is in alignment with respect to at least one of the interrogation signal source and the response signal sensor.   
     
     
         418 . The article of manufacture of  claim 417 , wherein the one or more non-transitory machine-readable data storage media bear one or more instructions for causing alignment of the eye of the subject with respect to the at least one of the interrogation signal source and the response signal sensor if a predetermined number of samples meeting an acceptance criterion has not been collected within a predetermined portion of the sampling period. 
     
     
         419 . The article of manufacture of  claim 415 , wherein the one or more non-transitory machine-readable data storage media bear one or more instructions for delivering a pulsed interrogation signal. 
     
     
         420 . The article of manufacture of  claim 419 , wherein the one or more non-transitory machine-readable data storage media bear one or more instructions for at least one of gating detection of the response signal relative to the pulsed interrogation signal or detecting multiple response signals produced by the eye of the subject in response to multiple pulses of the pulsed interrogation signal. 
     
     
         421 . A system comprising:
 a housing configured to be positioned remote from a subject within a visual field of an eye of the subject;   an interrogation signal source housed in the housing and adapted for delivering an interrogation signal to the eye of a subject, the interrogation signal source including at least one light source and at least one optical system;   a response signal sensor housed within the housing and adapted for sensing a response signal produced by the eye of the subject responsive to the interrogation signal, the response signal containing information regarding a physiological parameter of the subject;   a gaze attractor adapted to attract the gaze of the subject to thereby cause the eye of the subject to move into alignment with at least one of the interrogation signal source and the response signal sensor; and   an output structure adapted for transmitting an output signal;   wherein the housing is configured to be positioned relative to a display in such a manner that the interrogation signal source and response signal sensor are alignable with the eye of the subject during normal use of the display by the subject.   
     
     
         422 . The system of  claim 421 , including
 signal processing circuitry including a response signal processor configured to process the response signal sensed from the eye of the subject when the eye of the subject is in alignment with respect to the at least one of the interrogation signal source and the response signal sensor to determine the physiological parameter from the response signal.   
     
     
         423 . The system of  claim 422 , including
 a gaze signal sensor adapted for receiving a gaze signal containing information indicative of a gaze direction of the eye of the subject;   a gaze signal processor configured to determine the gaze direction of the eye of the subject based upon the gaze signal; and   an alignment detector configured to determine whether the eye of the subject is in alignment with respect to at least one of the interrogation signal source and the response signal sensor based at least in part upon the gaze direction.   
     
     
         424 . The system of  claim 421 , wherein the interrogation signal source includes an optical signal source and the response signal sensor includes an optical sensor; wherein the interrogation signal source includes an acoustic signal source and the response signal sensor includes an acoustic sensor; wherein the interrogation signal source includes a broad spectrum light source and the response signal sensor includes a spectrometer based on a CCD array; wherein the interrogation signal source includes a near-infrared light source and the response signal sensor includes a near-infrared camera; wherein the interrogation signal source includes a tunable laser source and the response signal sensor includes a Raman spectrometer based on a CCD camera; wherein the interrogation signal source includes a mid-infrared light source and the response signal sensor includes a mid-infrared detector; or wherein the interrogation signal source includes a tunable laser source and the response signal sensor includes a broad spectrum pyroelectric detector. 
     
     
         425 . The system of  claim 421 , including at least one gaze tracking stimulus source adapted to deliver a gaze tracking stimulus to at least the eye of the subject, wherein the gaze signal is produced in response to the gaze tracking stimulus 
     
     
         426 . The system of  claim 422 , wherein the interrogation signal source is adapted to deliver a pulsed interrogation signal. 
     
     
         427 . The system of  claim 421 , wherein the display is incorporated into at least one of a telephone, a computing device, a wearable item; an article of furniture, an article of medical or health-care related equipment, an article of exercise equipment, or a vehicle.