22nd Pupil Colloquium

September 2-6,1997

Point Clear, Alabama
United States

Pupillometry and Trucking Fatigue

Title: Pupillometry and Trucking Fatigue
Authors': *John P. Dal Santo, *†Stuart A. Tousman, *‡David L Shaw,
*Judi K. Gerstein, *James J. Falzone, *Nicklaus J. Dal Santo
Institution: Regional Sleep Disorder Center, Rockford, Il, MCJ Inc., Rockford, Il.
Footnotes: : *Regional Sleep Disorder Center, Rockford, Il, *MCJ Inc., Rockford, IL †Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Rockford College, Rockford, Il.
‡Medical Director, Regional Sleep Disorder Center, Rockford, Il.

Title: Pupillometry and Trucking Fatigue
Author: John P. Dal Santo
Regional Sleep Disorder Center
5301 East State Street, Suite 116
Rockford, Illinois 61108, USA
Phone: 815/ 399-5097
Summary: The purpose of the present research was to determine if fatigued truck drivers show different pupillary responses than non-fatigued truck drivers. A total of 166 truck drivers were stopped at a safety checkpoint in a large midwest city. They answered survey questions about their level of fatigue and then volunteered to have 3 scans taken of their eyes. The Pupil Response Measuring Deviceã flashed a green light onto the pupil and recorded a number of pupillary response variables including constriction velocity and reflex amplitude. Statistical results indicated that fatigued truck drivers had significantly faster constriction velocities and larger reflex amplitudes than non-fatigued truck drivers. Time of day and Stanford Sleepiness Scale scores were not correlated with pupillary responses. The results of this research suggest that pupil physiology has the potential to be used as an accurate indicator of fatigue in truck drivers. Key Words: Sleep, Pupil, Fatigu