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Portable equipment for simultaneous assays of psychomotor vigilance test and pupillometry

This paper describes a system with potential for identification of sleep deprivation, which, based on our bibliographical survey, has not yet been described in the literature. The system combines two methodologies, i. e., Psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) and pupillometry, which are among the leading methods for the study of sleep deprivation. However, due to peculiarities of both methodologies, some adaptations were made in their procedures to allow them to co-exist in the same system. Such integration may not only ensure the complementarity of indexes, making the identification of sleep deprivation more solid, but also set up the equalization of the subject's psycho-physiological state, which is not possible in tests performed with a time lag. In this study, the performance of measurements provided by the system was assessed in subjects on alert. However, some measurements present a displacement with respect to their average values, which, according to assessment, are determined by system's technical requirements. The results obtained in this assessment, combined with the increasing demand for large scale application tools, able to be used outside the limits of the laboratory environment for studies in sleep deprivation disorders, point to this system as a potential tool. However, the undertaking of a rigorous experiment is necessary to assess whether the indexes obtained by the system allow the robust identification of sleep deprivation.

Pupil; Pupillometry; Pupillometer; Reaction time; PVT


SBEB - Sociedade Brasileira de Engenharia Biomédica Sociedade Brasileira de Engenharia Biomédica, Centro de Tecnologia, , bloco H, sala 327 - Cidade Universitária, 21941-914 Rio de Janeiro - RJ , Tel./Fax.:: (55 21) 2562-8591 - Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brazil
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