System and method for analyzing involuntary eye movements of a human subject in response to a masked visual stimulating content
View Patent ↗Methods and systems for analyzing involuntary eye movements of a human subject are disclosed. The systems may include means for presenting to the human subject visual content, possibly a video footage, in which some visual stimulus with whom the human subject has some form of relationship on a cognitive or sentiment level is embedded. The generation of the combined video footage is such that the stimulus is briefly presented and masked by the following video footage. The duration of the stimulus is made sufficiently long to invoke a neural response beyond a specified threshold that generates respective ocular effect, and sufficiently short to prevent a controlled eye movement by the human subject. Once measured, the involuntary eye movements are analyzed in view of the respective stimulating portions—e.g., their timing and context, to yield an analysis of the human subject relationship towards the objects presented in the visual stimulating portions.
1. A system for analyzing involuntary eye movements of a human subject in response to a masked visual stimulating content, the system comprising:
a display;
a database comprising multiple sets of images, wherein each set of images of the multiple sets of images comprises a first image and at least one additional image displayed after the respective set's first image to thereby mask the respective set's first image, and wherein the first image of at least one set of images of the multiple sets of images comprises a visual stimulating content;
a controller in association with the display and with the database, the controller is arranged to display, on the display, the multiple sets of images such that:
the first image of each set of images of the multiple sets of images is displayed for a first predetermined time duration, wherein the first predetermined time duration ranges between 5 and 15 milliseconds;
the at least one additional image of each set of images of the multiple sets of images is displayed for a second predetermined time duration and at a first predetermined time offset with respect to the first image of the respective set of images, wherein the second predetermined time duration ranges between 50 and 150 milliseconds and the first predetermined time offset ranges between 40 and 100 milliseconds; and
the first images of each two sequential sets of images of the multiple sets of images are displayed at a second predetermined time offset with respect to each other, wherein the second predetermined time offset ranges between 0.5 and 1.5 seconds;
an eye tracking unit arranged to track involuntary eye movements of the human subject watching the multiple sets of images being displayed on the display to generate corresponding multiple eye movements signals; and
an analysis unit arranged to receive, from the eye tracking unit, the multiple eye movements signals and to determine, based on the multiple eye movements signals and a predetermined reference dataset, a difference between at least one eye movements signal of the multiple eye movements signals and other eye movements signals of the multiple eye movements signals, when the difference thereof is due to at least one of a subconscious response or a response on a verge of consciousness of the human subject to the visual stimulating content presented in the corresponding at least one first image of the corresponding at least one set of images of the multiple sets of images.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the stimulating visual content is contextually or directly related to at least one object with which the human subject has some form of relationship.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined reference dataset comprises an alteration pattern in eye movements signals of the human subject in response to the visual stimulating content.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the analysis unit is further arranged to indicate, based on the difference between at least one eye movements signal of the multiple eye movements signals and other eye movements signals of the multiple eye movements signals, a relationship of the human subject towards the visual stimulating content in the at least one first image of the corresponding at least one set of images of the multiple sets of images.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the analysis unit is further arranged to determine that the difference thereof is above a predetermined difference threshold to thereby indicate the relationship of the human subject towards the visual stimulating content.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein each set of images of the multiple sets of images comprises at least one second image, at least one third image and at least one fourth image, wherein the respective set's at least one second image and at least one third image are arranged to mask the respective set's first image and wherein the respective set's at least one fourth image is arranged to fixate a gaze of the human subject on the display.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is arranged to at least one of repeatedly and randomly display, on the display, the multiple sets of images.
8. A method of analyzing eye movements of a human subject in response to a masked visual stimulating content, the method comprising:
displaying, on a display, multiple sets of images, wherein
each set of images of the multiple sets of images comprises a first image and at least one additional image being displayed after the first image to thereby mask the first image,
the first image of at least one set of images of the multiple sets of images comprises a visual stimulating content,
the first image of each set of images of the multiple sets of images is displayed for a first predetermined time duration, wherein the first predetermined time duration ranges between 5 and 15 milliseconds,
the at least one additional image of each set of images of the multiple sets of images is displayed for a second predetermined time duration and at a first predetermined time offset with respect to the first image of the respective set of images, wherein the second predetermined time duration ranges between 50 and 150 milliseconds and the first predetermined time offset ranges between 40 and 100 milliseconds, and
the first images of each two sequential sets of images of the multiple sets of images are displayed at a second predetermined time offset with respect to each other, wherein the second predetermined time offset ranges between 0.5 and 1.5 seconds;
tracking, by an eye tracking unit, involuntary eye movements of the human subject watching the multiple sets of images being displayed on the display and generating corresponding multiple eye movements signals;
receiving, by an analysis unit, the multiple eye movements signals from the eye tracking unit and determining, by the analysis unit, based on the multiple eye movements signals and a predetermined reference dataset, a difference between at least one eye movements signal of the multiple eye movements signals and other eye movements signals of the multiple eye movements signals, when the difference thereof is due to at least one of a subconscious response or a response on a verge of consciousness of the human subject to the visual stimulating content presented in the corresponding at least one first image of the corresponding at least one set of images of the multiple sets of images.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising selecting the visual stimulating content to be contextually or directly related to at least one object with which the human subject has some form of relationship.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the predetermined reference dataset comprises an alteration pattern in eye movements signals in response to the visual stimulating content.
11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising indicating, by the analysis unit, based on the difference, a relationship of the human subject towards the visual stimulating content in the at least one first image of the corresponding at least one set of images of the multiple sets of images.
12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining that the difference thereof is above a predetermined difference threshold to thereby indicate the relationship of the human subject towards the visual stimulating content.
13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising each set of images of the multiple sets of images to comprise at least one second image, at least one third image and at least one fourth image, and further arranging the respective set's at least one second image and at least one third image to mask the respective set's first image and the respective set's at least one fourth image to fixate a gaze of the human subject on the display.
14. The method of claim 8 , further comprising at least one of repeatedly and randomly displaying, on the display, the multiple sets of images.