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Non-invasive high-speed blinking kinematics characterization

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Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study was to analyze the differences in blinking kinematics of spontaneous and voluntary blinks using for the first time a self-developed, non-invasive, and image processing–based method.

Methods

The blinks of 30 subjects were recorded for 1 min with the support of an eye-tracking device based on a high-speed infrared video camera, working at 250 frames per second, under two different experimental conditions. For the first condition, subjects were ordered to look in the straightforward position at a fixation target placed 1 m in front of them, with no further instructions. For the second, subjects were additionally asked to blink only following a sound signal every 6 s.

Results

Mean complete blinks increased by a factor of 1.7 from the spontaneous to the voluntary condition while mean incomplete blinks reduced significantly by a factor of 0.4. In both conditions, closing mean and peak velocities were always significantly greater and durations significantly lower than opening ones. When comparing the values for each condition, velocities and amplitudes for the voluntary condition were always greater than the corresponding values for spontaneous.

Conclusion

Voluntary blinks revealed significant kinematic differences compared to spontaneous, thus supporting a different supranuclear pathway organization. This study presents a new method, based on image analysis, for the non-invasive kinematic characterization of blinking.

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Funding

This research was supported in part by a “Formación de Profesorado Universitario” Scholarship (FPU17/03665, Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte) awarded to Cristian Talens Estarelles, by the Spanish Government through the MINECO research project DPI2017-89867-C2-2-R, and by the research project GV/2018/059, from “Conselleria d’Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport de la Generalitat Valenciana,” awarded to Santiago García Lázaro.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Optics & Optometry & Vision Sciences, University of Valencia, Dr. Moliner, 50 46100, Burjassot, Valencia, Spain

    V. Sanchis-Jurado, Cristian Talens-Estarelles, J. J. Esteve-Taboada, Á. M. Pons & S. García-Lázaro

Authors
  1. V. Sanchis-Jurado
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  2. Cristian Talens-Estarelles
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  3. J. J. Esteve-Taboada
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  4. Á. M. Pons
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  5. S. García-Lázaro
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Correspondence to Cristian Talens-Estarelles.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (Ethical Committee of the University of Valencia) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Sanchis-Jurado, V., Talens-Estarelles, C., Esteve-Taboada, J.J. et al. Non-invasive high-speed blinking kinematics characterization. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 258, 2701–2714 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-020-04782-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-020-04782-w

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