fMRI and MEG Eye Tracking Optics - EST, Engineering Systems Technologies GmbH & Co. KG

ASL is the only company whose system has been successfully installed and used in fMRI’s in over 70 locations worldwide. Our experience includes, but is not exclusive to, installations in Siemens Allegra, Siemens TIM Trio, Philips and GE. We have successful installations with both CP head coils and 8 and 12 channel head coils. Our experienced staff can assist with optical path designs, custom configurations, stimulus display inquiries, training and installation.

The Long Range Optic is designed specifically for the fMRI environment and is now available for MEG environments. Virtually no ferrous metal is used in the optics module. The camera and illumination source uses ASL bright pupil technology that allows much more flexibility in set up. The optics can be positioned 12 feet from the bore. Custom DC power cables are designed to go through your RF filters and penetration panel.

Overview
EYE-TRAC 7 series

Overview

Quick Set Up, Ease of Use & Portability

ASL provides an adjustable clam shell shelf that allows for quick alignment with the magnet bore. The setup and the calibration for each participant are quick and easy. The operating software includes the ASL auto-thresholding of the eye image and various calibration procedures depending on your research requirements.

In many cases (ex. the Siemens 3T Allegra) there is not enough room to mount a separate mirror to track the eye. In these cases the mirror used to view the stimulus may also be used to track the eye, minimizing set up time and increasing the participant’s comfort. Nothing is worn by the participants.

Various Temporal Resolutions

The standard configuration of the system includes a 60 Hz camera. For other research requirements, the system is available with high speed optics, capable of tracking at 120 and 240 Hz. This unique feature gives you the flexibility to broaden your research questions.

Accurate & Reliable Eye Movement Data

Data output and input are available in real time. The system outputs real-time X and Y gaze coordinates and pupil size. This data is available as analog, digital and video outputs.

In addition, the system will import data (16 bit parallel digital port, TTL level positive true) that can also be used to flag data.

Data can be recorded and analyzed offline. The EYE-TRAC® 7 includes our ASL Results Plus software programs for analyzing and displaying the collected data.

Concurrent Studies with other EYE-TRAC® 7 Optics

The EYE-TRAC® 7 can be configured with interchangeable ASL optics. This allows you the ability to conduct studies inside and outside of the magnet room.

ASL offers multiple solution packages as well as the ability to share components. The EYE-TRAC® 7 is compact and can easily be carried from the control room of the magnet to other laboratories or mock scanner. Acquiring additional optics along with the complete ASL fMRI long range solution provides you with the opportunity to optimize your research funding.

Additional interchangeable ASL optics:

Desktop/Remote, 50/60 Hz & high speed (commonly used with EEG studies)
Headmounted, 50/60 Hz & high speed (commonly used in mock scanner)
Chinrest mounted, 50/60 Hz & high speed
Mini mounted optics in Virtual HMDs

EYE-TRAC 7 series

The ASL EYE-TRAC 7 eye tracking solution is designed to be used in an array of eye tracking studies. The EYE-TRAC 7's unique, flexible design consists of three major components that can be easily configured to your particular application:

the portable EYE-TRAC 7 eye tracking unit with robust data collection software
interchangeable eye camera optics (head-mounted, remote desktop and/or long-range optics for the fMRI and MEG environments)
ASL Results Plus data analysis software

With over 30 years of experience in eye tracking development, ASL has the expertise to readily customized configurations to match your particular application.

The EYE-TRAC 7 series uses optimal technology to give you the best results - bright pupil optics that provide the best pupil image contrast in most indoor environments. A "bright pupil" image is produced when the camera line of view is coaxial (exactly aligned) with the illumination beam.

The ASL EYE-TRAC® 7

The EYE-TRAC 7 eye tracking unit with data collection software is the cornerstone of the EYE-TRAC 7 series. The EYE-TRAC 7 is compact, easy to configure and sets up in minutes. The EYE-TRAC 7 unit can connect to a variety of eye tracker optics. This modularity minimizes obsolescence when the parameters of future studies require different eye camera optics.

Using the EYE-TRAC 7 system is simple and easy with:

Constant real-time visual feedback for the operator, displayed on the EYE-TRAC 7 monitor screen, showing two images (point of gaze superimposed on the scene image and feature recognition indicators on the eye image)
Fast setup with auto-calibration and auto-thresholding options. Manual overrides are available for challenging participants.
Versatile calibration options and 1-point calibration correction
eye-tracking-data-analysis
Compatibility of the EYE-TRAC 7 with a variety of stimulus PCs, giving researchers the flexibility to use any computer that meets their specific needs
Ability to pre-select the parameters of data collection to collect only the data needed for a specific project, significantly reducing data analysis time
Software development kit (SDK), at no charge, which utilizes Microsoft dot com object technology and provides instructions for the coding and commands needed to integrate with other devices and software programs
All real time computations occur in EYE-TRAC 7's specialized data processing unit. Thus, data processing is not affected by the PC's operating system, allowing the data output rate and delay to be reliably constant.
eye-tracking-data-analysis
The robust and accurate tracking capability of the EYE-TRAC 7 provides reliable:
- Real-time x and y gaze coordinates
- Pupil diameter values
- Video image of scene, with superimposed gaze cursor, recorded as an avi file and synchronized with a digital data file
- Video image of eye, with superimposed indicators showing eye feature recognition, recorded as avi file and synchronized with digital data file
A wide variety of real-time data output/input format options provided by EYE-TRAC 7 for you to choose from, including:
- Serial (RS232) data stream output
- TCP/IP (Ethernet) data output
- 2 channels of analog data output
- TCP/IP (Ethernet) or parallel digital input to EYE-TRAC 7 (for sending event marks and controlling the data recording process)

ASL Eye Camera Optics

ASL offers the largest selection of eye camera optics. To complete your configuration of the ASL EYE-TRAC 7, you simply select your eye camera optics. Please review our individual eye camera optics.

ASL Data Analysis Tool - ASL Results Plus

All EYE-TRAC 7 Series eye trackers offer software for analyzing and displaying the collected data on static and dynamic images. ASL Results Plus software reduces all data to a list of fixations with parameters that can be adjusted to meet the researcher’s definitions and interpretations of events. Other important features include the ability to plot scan path patterns, define areas of interest on the stimulus display and compute many statistical parameters. For more detailed information, please feel free to visit our ASL Results Plus software web page.