| 研究実績の概要 |
For the past year, my research has continued to progress in a number of areas, including the modulation of content for safety in wearable computing, integrating eye tracking for the control of vision augmentations, and using virtual reality to assist in the diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease.
The first step was to introduce Modular Augmented Reality (ModulAR), a hardware and software framework designed to improve flexibility and hands-free control of video see-through augmented reality displays and augmentative functionality. To accomplish this goal, I used integrated eye tracking for on-demand control of vision augmentations such as optical zoom or field of view expansion. Physical modification of the device’s configuration can be accomplished on the fly using interchangeable camera-lens modules. I then present and low-cost VR interface designed to assist with evaluation and diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease, and test its use in a clinical setting. I first integrate an infrared camera into the lens of a commercially available VR display, the Oculus Rift. I also constructed a 3D virtual environment designed to emulate common tasks used to evaluate patients, such as fixating on a point, smooth pursuit of an object, or eliciting saccades. I am currently implementing algorithms to detect eye movements commonly characteristic of neurodegenerative disease, such as abnormal saccades, irregular pupillary response, square wave jerks, and pendular nystagmus. These will be used to assist physicians with detection of abnormal eye movements to better diagnose patients.
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| 現在までの達成度 (区分) |
現在までの達成度 (区分)
2: おおむね順調に進展している
理由
In general, my research has been progressing at a consistent pace. In addition to continuing my work on adaptive display technology, I have also improved upon my research by modifying it for medical use. Although several of the goals listed on my previous plan have changed, I have been able to explore other venues such as vision augmentation and neurology in an effort to expand the impact of the research.
I have also succeeded in initiating an international collaboration with the departments of Neurology and Physical therapy at Augusta University in the United States. These organizations have an interest in combining virtual and augmentative technologies to assist with the evaluation and diagnosis of neurodegeneration, and have agreed to continue collaborating on joint research projects.
These projects have already been published at several conferences, and will be submitted to several more conferences and journals in the next few months.
During the time I have been engaged in research, I have also written and successfully defended my PhD thesis at Osaka University.
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| 今後の研究の推進方策 |
The upcoming of research will focus on usability testing of combinations of the hardware and software prototypes I have developed. These need to be tested in outdoor environments and in clinical settings for certain applications to ensure that they are both robust and practical. Combinations of manual and automatic methods are currently under evaluation for testing, and will be completed soon.
The first method that needs to be tested is the vision augmentation display that I have developed. It allows users to merge different fields of view into a single field of view in real time. This needs to be tested with devices like IR cameras in real environments, for example when firefighters are checking doors for heat or when rescue workers are conducting triage on patients.
The second method that needs to be tested is the telediagnosis display. Though I have already gathered data from a number of patients in a clinical setting in conjunction with Augusta university, the resulting data and visualization of results needs to be tested with physicians of different levels. My plan is to design and experiment with doctors and clinicians of different levels, and compare their evaluations both with and without visualization algorithms as well as test their own detection ability against automated methodology.
Finally, the setup and results of these evaluations will be published at international journals and conferences in the fields of augmented reality, neurology, artificial intelligence, and intelligent user interfaces.
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