Yandan Lin1, Steve Fotios2, Minchen Wei3, Yihong Liu4, Weihong Guo5, Yaojie Sun1. 1. Institute for Electric Light Sources, Fudan University, Engineering Research Center of Advanced Lighting Technology, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China. 2. School of Architecture, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom. 3. Department of Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States. 4. Shenzhen Institute of Building Research Co. Ltd., Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. 5. Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Involuntary physiological responses offer an alternative means to psychophysical procedures for objectively evaluating discomfort glare. This study examined eye movement and pupil size responses to glare discomfort using new approaches to analysis: relative pupil size and speed of eye movement. METHODS: Participants evaluated glare discomfort using the standard de Boer rating scale under various conditions manipulated to influence glare discomfort. Eye movement was recorded using an electro-oculogram (EOG), and pupil size was recorded using Tobii glasses. Ten young (mean age: 24.5 years old) and 10 senior (mean age: 61 years old) participants were recruited for this experiment. RESULTS: Subjective evaluation of glare discomfort was highly correlated with eye movement (multiple correlation coefficient [R(2)] of >0.94, P < 0.001) and pupil constriction (R(2) = 0.38, P < 0.001). Severe glare discomfort increased the speed of eye movement and caused larger pupil constriction. Larger variations of eye movement were found among seniors. CONCLUSIONS: The two physiological responses studied here to characterize discomfort glare under various lighting conditions had significant correlation with the subjective evaluation. The correlation between discomfort glare and physiological responses suggests an objective way to characterize and evaluate discomfort glare that may overcome the problems of conventional subjective evaluation. It also offers an explanation as to why long-term exposure to discomfort glare leads to visual fatigue and eyestrain. Copyright 2015 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.
PURPOSE: Involuntary physiological responses offer an alternative means to psychophysical procedures for objectively evaluating discomfort glare. This study examined eye movement and pupil size responses to glare discomfort using new approaches to analysis: relative pupil size and speed of eye movement. METHODS:Participants evaluated glare discomfort using the standard de Boer rating scale under various conditions manipulated to influence glare discomfort. Eye movement was recorded using an electro-oculogram (EOG), and pupil size was recorded using Tobii glasses. Ten young (mean age: 24.5 years old) and 10 senior (mean age: 61 years old) participants were recruited for this experiment. RESULTS: Subjective evaluation of glare discomfort was highly correlated with eye movement (multiple correlation coefficient [R(2)] of >0.94, P < 0.001) and pupil constriction (R(2) = 0.38, P < 0.001). Severe glare discomfort increased the speed of eye movement and caused larger pupil constriction. Larger variations of eye movement were found among seniors. CONCLUSIONS: The two physiological responses studied here to characterize discomfort glare under various lighting conditions had significant correlation with the subjective evaluation. The correlation between discomfort glare and physiological responses suggests an objective way to characterize and evaluate discomfort glare that may overcome the problems of conventional subjective evaluation. It also offers an explanation as to why long-term exposure to discomfort glare leads to visual fatigue and eyestrain. Copyright 2015 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.