Intelligent standalone eye blinking monitoring system for computer users

Purpose: Working on computers for long hours has become a regular task for millions of people around the world. This has led to the increase of eye and vision issues related to prolonged computer use, known as computer vision syndrome (CVS). A main contributor to CVS caused by dry eyes is the reduc...

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Main Authors: Ahmad Jiman, Amjad Abdullateef, Alaa Almelawi, Khan Yunus, Yasser Kadah, Ahmad Turki, Mohammed Abdulaal, Nebras Sobahi, Eyad Attar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Bern Open Publishing 2024-12-01
Series:Journal of Eye Movement Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://bop.unibe.ch/JEMR/article/view/11282
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author Ahmad Jiman
Amjad Abdullateef
Alaa Almelawi
Khan Yunus
Yasser Kadah
Ahmad Turki
Mohammed Abdulaal
Nebras Sobahi
Eyad Attar
author_facet Ahmad Jiman
Amjad Abdullateef
Alaa Almelawi
Khan Yunus
Yasser Kadah
Ahmad Turki
Mohammed Abdulaal
Nebras Sobahi
Eyad Attar
author_sort Ahmad Jiman
collection DOAJ
description Purpose: Working on computers for long hours has become a regular task for millions of people around the world. This has led to the increase of eye and vision issues related to prolonged computer use, known as computer vision syndrome (CVS). A main contributor to CVS caused by dry eyes is the reduction of blinking rates. In this pilot study, an intelligent, standalone eye blinking monitoring system to promote healthier blinking behaviors for computer users was developed using components that are affordable and easily available in the market. Methods: The developed eye blinking monitoring system used a camera to track blinking rates and operated audible, visual and tactile alarm modes to induce blinks. The hypothesis in this study is that the developed eye blinking monitoring system would increase eye blinks for a computer user. To test this hypothesis, the developed system was evaluated on 20 subjects. Results: The eye blinking monitoring system detected blinks with high accuracy (95.9%). The observed spontaneous eye blinking rate was 43.1 ± 14.7 blinks/min (mean ± standard deviation). Eye blinking rates significantly decreased when the subjects were watching movie trailers (25.2 ± 11.9 blinks/min; Wilcoxon signed rank test; p<0.001) and reading articles (24.2 ± 12.1 blinks/min; p<0.001) on a computer. The blinking monitoring system with the alarm function turned on showed an increase in blinking rates (28.2 ± 12.1 blinks/min) compared to blinking rates without the alarm function (25.2 ± 11.9 blinks/min; p=0.09; Cohen’s effect size d=0.25) when the subjects were watching movie trailers. Conclusions: The developed blinking monitoring system was able to detect blinking with high accuracy and induce blinking with a personalized alarm function. Further work is needed to refine the study design and evaluate the clinical impact of the system. This work is an advancement towards the development of a profound technological solution for preventing CVS.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 1995-8692
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publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Bern Open Publishing
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series Journal of Eye Movement Research
spelling doaj-art-cce40766ee014f1897a38945e065de1d2024-12-06T14:27:13ZengBern Open PublishingJournal of Eye Movement Research1995-86922024-12-0117510.16910/jemr.17.5.1Intelligent standalone eye blinking monitoring system for computer usersAhmad Jiman0Amjad Abdullateef1Alaa Almelawi2Khan Yunus3Yasser Kadah4Ahmad Turki5Mohammed Abdulaal6Nebras Sobahi7Eyad Attar8Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz UniversityDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz UniversityDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz UniversityDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz UniversityDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz UniversityDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz UniversityDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz UniversityDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz UniversityDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz University Purpose: Working on computers for long hours has become a regular task for millions of people around the world. This has led to the increase of eye and vision issues related to prolonged computer use, known as computer vision syndrome (CVS). A main contributor to CVS caused by dry eyes is the reduction of blinking rates. In this pilot study, an intelligent, standalone eye blinking monitoring system to promote healthier blinking behaviors for computer users was developed using components that are affordable and easily available in the market. Methods: The developed eye blinking monitoring system used a camera to track blinking rates and operated audible, visual and tactile alarm modes to induce blinks. The hypothesis in this study is that the developed eye blinking monitoring system would increase eye blinks for a computer user. To test this hypothesis, the developed system was evaluated on 20 subjects. Results: The eye blinking monitoring system detected blinks with high accuracy (95.9%). The observed spontaneous eye blinking rate was 43.1 ± 14.7 blinks/min (mean ± standard deviation). Eye blinking rates significantly decreased when the subjects were watching movie trailers (25.2 ± 11.9 blinks/min; Wilcoxon signed rank test; p<0.001) and reading articles (24.2 ± 12.1 blinks/min; p<0.001) on a computer. The blinking monitoring system with the alarm function turned on showed an increase in blinking rates (28.2 ± 12.1 blinks/min) compared to blinking rates without the alarm function (25.2 ± 11.9 blinks/min; p=0.09; Cohen’s effect size d=0.25) when the subjects were watching movie trailers. Conclusions: The developed blinking monitoring system was able to detect blinking with high accuracy and induce blinking with a personalized alarm function. Further work is needed to refine the study design and evaluate the clinical impact of the system. This work is an advancement towards the development of a profound technological solution for preventing CVS. https://bop.unibe.ch/JEMR/article/view/11282eyeblinkcomputermonitorscreencomputer vision syndrome
spellingShingle Ahmad Jiman
Amjad Abdullateef
Alaa Almelawi
Khan Yunus
Yasser Kadah
Ahmad Turki
Mohammed Abdulaal
Nebras Sobahi
Eyad Attar
Intelligent standalone eye blinking monitoring system for computer users
Journal of Eye Movement Research
eye
blink
computer
monitor
screen
computer vision syndrome
title Intelligent standalone eye blinking monitoring system for computer users
title_full Intelligent standalone eye blinking monitoring system for computer users
title_fullStr Intelligent standalone eye blinking monitoring system for computer users
title_full_unstemmed Intelligent standalone eye blinking monitoring system for computer users
title_short Intelligent standalone eye blinking monitoring system for computer users
title_sort intelligent standalone eye blinking monitoring system for computer users
topic eye
blink
computer
monitor
screen
computer vision syndrome
url https://bop.unibe.ch/JEMR/article/view/11282
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