Differential privacy for eye tracking with temporal correlations.

New generation head-mounted displays, such as VR and AR glasses, are coming into the market with already integrated eye tracking and are expected to enable novel ways of human-computer interaction in numerous applications. However, since eye movement properties contain biometric information, privacy concerns have to be handled properly. Privacy-preservation techniques such as differential privacy mechanisms have recently been applied to eye movement data obtained from such displays. Standard differential privacy mechanisms; however, are vulnerable due to temporal correlations between the eye movement observations. In this work, we propose a novel transform-coding based differential privacy mechanism to further adapt it to the statistics of eye movement feature data and compare various low-complexity methods. We extend the Fourier perturbation algorithm, which is a differential privacy mechanism, and correct a scaling mistake in its proof. Furthermore, we illustrate significant reductions in sample correlations in addition to query sensitivities, which provide the best utility-privacy trade-off in the eye tracking literature. Our results provide significantly high privacy without any essential loss in classification accuracies while hiding personal identifiers.

Helping the Blind to Get through COVID-19: Social Distancing Assistant Using Real-Time Semantic Segmentation on RGB-D Video.

The current COVID-19 pandemic is having a major impact on our daily lives. Social distancing is one of the measures that has been implemented with the aim of slowing the spread of the disease, but it is difficult for blind people to comply with this. In this paper, we present a system that helps blind people to maintain physical distance to other persons using a combination of RGB and depth cameras. We use a real-time semantic segmentation algorithm on the RGB camera to detect where persons are and use the depth camera to assess the distance to them; then, we provide audio feedback through bone-conducting headphones if a person is closer than 1.5 m. Our system warns the user only if persons are nearby but does not react to non-person objects such as walls, trees or doors; thus, it is not intrusive, and it is possible to use it in combination with other assistive devices. We have tested our prototype system on one blind and four blindfolded persons, and found that the system is precise, easy to use, and amounts to low cognitive load.

Measuring changes in device use of a head-mounted low vision aid after personalised telerehabilitation: protocol for a feasibility study.

INTRODUCTION: A recent trend in low vision (LV) has been towards the use of portable head-mounted displays (HMDs) to enhance residual vision. The decision process around the (non-)use of such devices have been identified as multifactorial. Among important barriers identified in the context of magnifying LV aids were transportation issues and insufficient training. In recent years, telerehabilitation has become of growing interest in healthcare because it allows individuals to remain at home while receiving rehabilitation services. A recent pilot study indicated encouraging outcomes; however, very few applications of telerehabilitation for LV have been tested systematically. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: To help guide evidence-based practice recommendations for this modality, we will carry out a feasibility study to assess the recruitment, retention, accessibility and acceptability of an eventual fully randomised trial of telerehabilitation for people with LV using HMDs. We will recruit 60 participants aged 18+ years among prospective eSight Eyewear owners, randomised 1:1 into two parallel groups. The active intervention will be the telerehabilitation operated by a LV therapist; the control arm will be the current self-training standard provided by the device vendor. The primary feasibility outcome measures will be: time to recruit participants, loss to follow-up, accessibility and acceptability of the telerehabilitation (satisfaction of the users and LV therapist). Exploratory outcomes will be the impact of telerehabilitation on eSight Eyewear use behaviour (discontinuance rate), and validated measures of assistive-technology-related quality of life. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study was approved by the Ethics Review Board of the Centre de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Réadaptation de Montréal métropolitain (CRIR# 1286-1217). Dissemination is planned via local, national and international healthcare conferences and peer-reviewed journal publications.

Increasing Completion Rate and Benefits of Checklists: Prospective Evaluation of Surgical Safety Checklists With Smart Glasses.

BACKGROUND: Studies have demonstrated that surgical safety checklists (SSCs) can significantly reduce surgical complications and mortality rates. Such lists rely on traditional posters or paper, and their contents are generic regarding the type of surgery being performed. SSC completion rates and uniformity of content have been reported as modest and widely variable. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and potential of using smart glasses in the operating room to increase the benefits of SSCs by improving usability through contextualized content and, ideally, resulting in improved completion rates. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated and compared 80 preoperative time-out events with SSCs at a major academic medical center between June 2016 and February 2017. Participants were assigned to either a conventional checklist approach (poster, memory, or both) or a smart glasses app running on Google Glass. RESULTS: Four different surgeons conducted 41 checklists using conventional methods (ie, memory or poster) and 39 using the smart glasses app. The average checklist completion rate using conventional methods was 76%. Smart glasses allowed a completion rate of up to 100% with a decrease in average checklist duration of 18%. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with alternatives such as posters, paper, and memory, smart glasses checklists are easier to use and follow. The glasses allowed surgeons to use contextualized time-out checklists, which increased the completion rate to 100% and reduced the checklist execution time and time required to prepare the equipment during surgical cases.

See-Through Type 3D Head-Mounted Display-Based Surgical Microscope System for Microsurgery: A Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: The surgical microscope is used primarily for microsurgeries, which are more complicated than other surgical procedures and require delicate tasks for a long time. Therefore, during these surgical procedures, surgeons experience back and neck pain. To solve this problem, new technology, such as wearable displays, is required to help surgeons maintain comfortable postures and enjoy advanced functionality during microsurgery. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop a surgical microscope system that would work with wearable devices. It would include a head-mounted display (HMD) that can offer 3D surgical images and allow a flexible and comfortable posture instead of fixed eyepieces of surgical microscope and can also provide peripheral visual field with its optical see-through function. METHODS: We designed and fabricated a surgical microscope system that incorporates a see-through type 3D HMD, and we developed an image processing software to provide better image quality. The usability of the proposed system was confirmed with preclinical examination. Seven ENT (ear, nose, and throat) surgical specialists and 8 residents performed a mock surgery-axillary lymph node dissection on a rat. They alternated between looking through the eyepieces of the surgical microscope and viewing a 3D HMD screen connected to the surgical microscope. We examined the success of the surgery and asked the specialists and residents to grade eye fatigue on a scale of 0 (none) to 6 (severe) and posture discomfort on a scale of 1 (none) to 5 (severe). Furthermore, a statistical comparison was performed using 2-tailed paired t test, and P=.00083 was considered significant. RESULTS: Although 3D HMD case showed a slightly better result regarding visual discomfort (P=.097), the average eye fatigue was not significantly different between eyepiece and 3D HMD cases (P=.79). However, the average posture discomfort, especially in neck and shoulder, was lower with 3D HMD display use than with eyepiece use (P=.00083). CONCLUSIONS: We developed a see-through type 3D HMD-based surgical microscope system and showed through preclinical testing that the system could help reduce posture discomfort. The proposed system, with its advanced functions, could be a promising new technique for microsurgery.