Constant false alarm rate detection of saccadic eye movements in electro-oculography

The analysis of eye movements has proven to be valuable in both clinical work and research as well as in other fields besides medicine. The detection of saccadic eye movements and the extraction of related saccade parameters, such as maximum angular velocity, amplitude, and duration, are usually performed during the analysis of electro-oculographic (EOG) signals. This article considers a saccade detection method that is based on the constant false alarm rate technique, in which the detection sensitivity is continuously adjusted on the basis of the observed signal in order to keep the number of false alarms constant. The method is computationally efficient, it can operate autonomously without user intervention, and it is capable of detecting saccades in a sequential fashion. Therefore, the method finds potential use in applications that require automated analysis of electro-oculographic signals. Because of the constant false alarm rate property, the method can also perform in situations where ideal measurement conditions cannot be guaranteed and noise presents a considerable problem. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.