Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness and disability. The disease can remain relatively asymptomatic until late stages and, therefore, early detection and monitoring of functional damage is paramount to prevent functional impairment and blindness. Detection of functional loss in the disease has traditionally been made using standard automated perimetry (SAP). However, SAP testing is limited by the complexity of the examination, subjectivity of patient responses, large variability, cost, and lack of portability. The overall goal of this proposal is to address limitations of currently available techniques by developing a portable objective method for assessment of visual field loss in glaucoma. The investigations of this proposal will address the following 3 specific aims: 1) To develop a portable, objective, multifocal steady state (mfSSVEP)-based visual field assessment platform, integrating a wearable, wireless dry EEG system and a head-mounted display; 2) To develop and validate an Electrooculogram (EOG)-guided method to assess eye- gaze during testing with the envisioned portable platform and 3) To evaluate the reproducibility of the envisioned platform and to conduct preliminary studies evaluating its ability to detect visual fiel loss in patients with glaucoma compared to healthy control subjects.
In Specific Aim 1, we will develop a prototype portable device integrating a dry-electrode EEG platform to a cell phone-based head-mounted display for stimulus presentation. We have used similar technology for recent development of brain-computer interfaces, with wireless SSVEP data acquisition and processing. In our preliminary investigation, we have also shown the feasibility of using mfSSVEP for assessment of visual field loss. In the current investigation, advanced signal processing methods will be used to improve signal-to-noise ratio of mfSSVEP from high-density recording. Exploratory studies will be conducted by varying test parameters until a stable testing platform is achieved.
In Specific Aim 2, we will integrate an EOG method to the portable plataform, in order to identify fixation losses and allow identification of unreliable mfSSVEP signals to be removed from further analyses. Appropriate eye fixation is essential in order to ensure matching of SSVEP signals to corresponding visual field locations. We will conduct experiments to assess whether the EOG method to filter out unreliable signals improves the accuracy of mfSSVEP to detect visual field losses.
In Specific Aim 3, we will conduct validating studies evaluating the reproducibility of measurements obtained with the proposed device, as well as its accuracy for detecting visual field loss in patients with glaucoma. A validated, portable, objective method for assessment of visual field loss in glaucoma may potentially improve screening, diagnosis and detection of glaucoma progression and reduce rates of functional impairment and blindness from the disease.

Public Health Relevance

Glaucoma is a leading cause of vision loss in the United States and worldwide, frequently resulting in significant disability and decrease in health-related quality of life. The overall goal of this proposal is to develop a portable objective method for assessment of visual field loss in glaucoma using a wearable, wireless, Electroencephalogram (EEG)-based platform and a head-mounted display. Such platform will allow objective evaluation of the presence of visual field deficits in unconstrained situations, potentially improving screening, diagnosis and detection of glaucoma progression and reducing rates of functional impairment and blindness from the disease.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
5R21EY025056-02
Application #
9113018
Study Section
Bioengineering of Neuroscience, Vision and Low Vision Technologies Study Section (BNVT)
Program Officer
Liberman, Ellen S
Project Start
2015-08-01
Project End
2017-07-31
Budget Start
2016-08-01
Budget End
2017-07-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California San Diego
Department
Ophthalmology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
804355790
City
La Jolla
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92093
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Nakanishi, Masaki; Wang, Yijun; Chen, Xiaogang et al. (2018) Enhancing Detection of SSVEPs for a High-Speed Brain Speller Using Task-Related Component Analysis. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 65:104-112
Wu, Zhichao; Saunders, Luke J; Daga, Fábio B et al. (2017) Frequency of Testing to Detect Visual Field Progression Derived Using a Longitudinal Cohort of Glaucoma Patients. Ophthalmology 124:786-792
Daga, Fábio B; Macagno, Eduardo; Stevenson, Cory et al. (2017) Wayfinding and Glaucoma: A Virtual Reality Experiment. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 58:3343-3349
Nakanishi, Masaki; Wang, Yu-Te; Jung, Tzyy-Ping et al. (2017) Detecting Glaucoma With a Portable Brain-Computer Interface for Objective Assessment of Visual Function Loss. JAMA Ophthalmol 135:550-557
Diniz-Filho, Alberto; Abe, Ricardo Y; Cho, Hyong Jin et al. (2017) Reply. Ophthalmology 124:e21
Abe, Ricardo Y; Diniz-Filho, Alberto; Zangwill, Linda M et al. (2016) The Relative Odds of Progressing by Structural and Functional Tests in Glaucoma. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 57:OCT421-8
Diniz-Filho, Alberto; Abe, Ricardo Y; Cho, Hyong Jin et al. (2016) Fast Visual Field Progression Is Associated with Depressive Symptoms in Patients with Glaucoma. Ophthalmology 123:754-9
Saunders, Luke J; Medeiros, Felipe A; Weinreb, Robert N et al. (2016) What rates of glaucoma progression are clinically significant? Expert Rev Ophthalmol 11:227-234
Diniz-Filho, Alberto; Boer, Erwin R; Elhosseiny, Ahmed et al. (2016) Glaucoma and Driving Risk under Simulated Fog Conditions. Transl Vis Sci Technol 5:15

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