Bedford, MA, December 18, 2003. Applied Science Laboratories (ASL) has acquired the rights to the advanced eye tracking line developed by IOTA AB (formerly Permobil Meditech, makers of the ober2, high speed recording system), a Swedish company. IOTA AB EyeTrace technology was developed and enhanced by international teams of scientists and engineers with the leadership and guidance of Dr. Per Uddén a Swedish physician, businessman, inventor and scientist.
In making the announcement, Robert Baer, ASL General Manager, said, "This strategic partnership with Iota will enhance both the power and flexibility of ASL's eye tracking technology and hardware, part of our planned growth strategy. IOTA is a recognized pioneer in eye tracking technology, in which sophisticated software, needed to obtain and interpret data and drive the hardware, plays a major role."
Eye tracking systems have a wide range of medical research applications and could have significant potential for early detection and treatment of various disorders. These systems are powerful enough to permit eye movement measurement with subject's eyes closed, important in sleep research. By measuring involuntary response to nystagmus stimulation, such systems can study the effects of disease states on eye movements and could permit early study of such disorders as Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia.
Future medical applications could include AIDS and Alzheimer's research; head injury evaluation; and evaluation and remediation of dyslexia and other reading dysfunctions, as well as a major benefit to educators; a simplified version is in use for testing, involving the dynamics of reading ability and comprehension performance.
Eye tracking systems provide an important design evaluation and research tool for computer displays used in aviation, aerospace, defense and industry. Applications include design of simulators, computer displays and control panels used in air traffic facilities, aircraft and cockpits, vehicles and complex manufacturing displays.
With the growing importance of multimedia, graphical user interface (GUI) and Windows computer screen displays, the ability to measure where the user is actually looking is crucial for designing visual information displays. Other important applications in communications technology encompass advertising, packaging and publication design, software development and complex traffic signals and signs.
Applied Science Laboratories has been a pioneer in the examination of the human eye's movements and pupil dynamics for over 30 years. ASL was the first company to develop a head-mounted eye tracker, eye/head integration, parallax-free optics, and many other features that are now industry standard. ASL's current range of computer-based eye movement measurement equipment has eye-tracking applications in moving vehicles, sports, WEB design, pupilometry and many more. ASL currently has tracking systems in the fields of medicine, cognitive psychology, training, simulation, biomechanics and human factors research.
For more information, visit www.a-s-l.com .
More information about IOTA AB can be found at www.iota.se .
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