Smart Glasses Offer New Window into Mental Health

A new generation of smart glasses developed by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is offering a novel approach to understanding and assessing mental health conditions. These glasses, utilizing a technology called Pupil-Light, track subtle changes in pupil size and eye movement to provide insights into a person’s mental state.

The Technology Behind the Innovation

Unlike traditional eye-tracking technology that relies on cameras and video processing, the Pupil-Light system developed by Nicolas Pégard, associate professor in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences’ applied physical sciences department, and Jose Rodríguez-Romaguera, assistant professor in the UNC School of Medicine’s psychiatry and cell biology and physiology departments, directly converts light signals into measurements. This camera-free design reduces data processing and power requirements, making the glasses more practical for extended use and integration into existing wearable technology. UNC Research

From Personal Experience to Entrepreneurial Venture

The project was spearheaded by Ellora McTaggart, co-founder and CEO of Carolina Instruments, who was diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a student at UNC. McTaggart’s personal experience fueled her desire to create more nuanced and accessible diagnostic tools. LinkedIn “My diagnosis helped me understand my experience,” McTaggart says. “For years, I felt like I had to perform harder than everyone else while being evaluated by a system that did not match how my brain works.” UNC Research

How Pupil Dynamics Reveal Mental State

Shifts in pupil size and eye motion can often precede observable behavioral changes in individuals with neuropsychiatric conditions such as ADHD, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. These subtle physiological changes offer real-time insights into stress levels and engagement. Capturing these patterns outside of a clinical setting could provide a more comprehensive understanding of a person’s mental state than traditional observation alone. UNC Research

Commercialization and Future Applications

Carolina Instruments is focused on refining research-grade technologies into user-friendly commercial products for behavioral neuroscience researchers. NC IDEA The company recently secured a $400,000 Small Business Technology Transfer grant from the National Institutes of Health, with McTaggart serving as principal investigator. UNC Research

Looking ahead, McTaggart envisions integrating the pupil-tracking technology into existing virtual and augmented reality devices. This approach could broaden access to the technology without requiring Carolina Instruments to develop and distribute its own smart eyewear. UNC Research

Key Takeaways

• New smart glasses utilize Pupil-Light technology to track pupil size and eye movements.
• The technology offers a non-invasive way to gain insights into mental health conditions.
• Carolina Instruments aims to make the technology accessible to researchers and, eventually, integrate it into existing wearable devices.