1963

Robinson: Measuring Eye Movement Using Search Codl in a Magnietic Field

[7] T. H. Bullock, "Neuron doctrine and electrophysiology," Science

vol. 129 pp. 997-1002; April 1959.
[8] T. H. Bullock and S. Hagiwara, "Intracellular potentials in
pacemaker and integrative neurons of the lobster cardiac
ganglion," J. Cell. and Comp. Physiol.,vol 50, pp. 25-48; August,
1957.
[9] S. Hagiwara and T. H. Bullock, "Intracellular recording from
the giant synapse of the squid," J. Gen. Physiol., vol. 40, pp.
565-577; March, 1957.
[10] T. H. Bullock and C. A. Terzuolo, "Diverse forms of activity in
the somata of spontaneous and integrating ganglion cells," J.
Physiol., vol. 138, pp. 341-364; 1957.
[11] T. Otani and T. H. Bullock, "Effects of presetting the membrane
potential of the soma of spontaneous and integrating ganglion
cells," Physiological Zoology, vol. 32, pp. 104-114; April, 1959.
[121 E. Florey, "Recent studies on synaptic transmitters," Am. Zoologist, vol. 2, pp. 45-54; February, 1962.
[131 P. Fatt, "Physics of nerve processes," Repts. on Progress in
Physics, vol. 21, pp. 112-143; 1958.
[14] J. C. Eccles, "The Neurophysiological Basis of Mind," The
Carendon Press, Oxford, England; 1952.
[15] J. Del Castillo and B. Katz, "On the localization of acetylcholine
receptors," J. Physiol., vol. 128, pp. 157-181; 1955.
[16] P. Fatt and B. Katz, "An analysis of the end-plate potential
recorded with an intra-cellular electrode," J. Physiol., vol. 115,
pp. 320-370; 1951.
[17] E. R. Lewis, "The Resistor-Capacitor Integrating Circuit: an
Important Functional Unit in Neural Simulation," Lab. for
Automata Research, Librascope Division, General Precision,

Method

of

[18]
[19]

[20]
[21]
[22]

[23]
[24]

[25]

[26]

Inc., Gendale, Calif. Semi-Annual Rept. No. 4, pp. 27-43;

January, 1962.
E. R. Lewis, "An electronic model of the neuron based on the
dynamics of potassium and sodium ion fluxes," in Neural Theory
and Models: Proc. of the Ojai Conference, Stanford University
Press., Stanford, Calif.; in press.
H. Grundfest, "Excitation triggers in post-junctional cells," in
"Physiological Triggers," T. H. Bullock, Ed., American Physiological Society, Washington, D.C., pp. 119-151; 1957.
A. L. Hodgkin and A. F. Huxley, "The components of membrane
conductance in the gaint axon of loligo," J. Physiol., vol. 116,
pp. 473-496; 1952.
A. L. Hodgkin and A. F. Huxley, "A quantitative description

of membrane current and its application to conduction and

excitation in nerve," J. Physiol., vol. 117, pp. 500-544; 1952.
G. Hoyle, "Comparative physiology of conduction in nerve and
muscle," Am. Zoologist., vol. 2, pp. 5-25; February, 1962.
F. F. Hiltz, "Analog computer simulation of a neural element,"
IRE TRANS. ON BIO-MEDICAL ELECTRONICS, vol. BME-9, pp.
12-20; January, 1962.
L. D. Harmon, "Artificial neu,ron," Science, vol. 129, pp. 962963; April, 1959.
L. D. Harmon, "Studies with artificial neurons, I: Properties
and functions of an artificial neuron," Kybernetik, vol. 1, pp.
102-107; December, 1961.
F. Jenik, "Pulse processing by neuron models," in "Neural Theory
and Models: Proc. of the Ojai Conference," Stanford University
Press, Stanford, Calif.; in press.

Measuring Eye

Scieral Search

Coil

137

Movemnent

Using a

in a Magnetic Field*

DAVID A. ROBINSONt, MEMBER, IEEE

Summary-With the subject exposed to an alternating magnetic
field, eye position may be accurately recorded from the voltage generated in a coil of wire embedded in a scleral contact lens worn by
the subject. Using two magnetic fields in quadrature phase and two
coils on the lens, one may measure horizontal, vertical and torsional
eye movements simultaneously. The instrument described has an
accuracy and linearity of about 2 per cent of full scale, a resolution

advantages over existing methods that make it applicable to a wide variety of physiological studies involving
eye movements (for a review see Riggs et al.1 or Alpern2).
It has the accuracy and sensitivity of the method employing a mirror on a scleral lens3 without requiring an
individually fitted contact lens and it can be used to
of 15 seconds of arc and a bandwidth of 1000 cyles per second.
study the largest and the smallest movements of which
the eye is capable by merely changing the gain of elecINTRODUCTION
tronic
amplifiers. The ability to measure all three comrlf HE VESTIBULO-OCULAR reflex, which aids
ponents
of eye movement is inherently lacking in some
in stabilizing images on the retina, requires a nice
methods such as that of corneal reflection and the elecinterplay between the six semicircular canals and
the twelve extraocular muscles. The study of this reflex tro-oculogram. The magnetic field method described
here is also unaffected by translatory movements of the
should have at its command an instrument for accu- head
(or eye) thereby eliminating, for many purposes,
rately measuring eye movement in all three degrees of
the
head
clamp or dental biteboard.
freedom simultaneously. This need has led to the following development. The instrument described has other
1 L. A. Riggs, J. C. Armington, and F. Ratliff, "Motions of the
retinal image during fixation," J. Opt. Soc. Am., vol. 44, p. 315; 1954.
*
Received July 10, 1963. This investigation was supported by
2 M. Alpern, "Muscular mechanics," in "The Eye," H. Davson,
Public Health Service Research Grant AM-05524 from the National Ed., Academic Press,
New York, N. Y., vol. 3; 1962. See especially
Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases.
ch. 5, sec. I.
t Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University,

Baltimore, Md.

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I F. Ratliff and L. A. Riggs,

"Involuntary motions of the eye during monocular fixation," J. Exp. Psychol., vol. 40, p. 687; 1950.

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIO-MEDICAL ELECTRONICS

138

October

THE BASIC PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION

If, as shown in Fig. 1, a coil of N turns is wound near
the rim of a scleral contact lens and is subjected to a
vertical alternating magnetic field Hz a voltage will be
induced in the coil in accordance with Faraday's law
dp
e = - N - X 10-8.
(1)
di
In the primary position of gaze the eye looks straight
ahead along the y axis, the coil lies in the x-z plane and
no voltage is induced. If the eye looks up by the angle
4 and the field is given by H, cos cot, the voltage induced
will be
(2)
ei = + NA sin cpH,w sin cot X 10-8

where A is the area of the coil (2.55 cm2), co is the radian

frequency (27r X 5000) and A sin is the area of the coil
projected onto the x-y plane which links the flux.
Numerically if N is 10 and H, is 2.19 gauss peak, then a
vertical gaze 0 of 10 yields a voltage e, of 2.2 mv rms.
Since the noise level of the amplifier G is below 2 ,uv, this
already indicates the ability to resolve at least onethousandth of this movement or 36 seconds of arc. If the
eye looks down by - 10, the phase of the voltage reverses. By using a phase detector and comparing the
signal to a voltage e, derived from a fixed coil that intercepts the field H, a polarity reversible dc signal e< is produced which is proportional to sin 0.
One coil on the lens and one magnetic field would permit the measurement of only one degree of freedom.
Before proceeding to three degrees of freedom it is
necessary to define appropriate angles in a coordinate
system. These are shown in Fig. 2. The unprimed axes
x, y and z are taken as fixed in the orbit. They are the socalled axes of Fick. The primed axes x', y' and z' are
fixed in the eyeball and move with it. The angles 0
(longitude, yaw, azimuth, horizontal duction), 4
(latitude, pitch, elevation, vertical duction) and 4 (roll,
torsion) were first introduced into ocular physiology by
Fick4 in 1854. There are, of course, many other systems
in which to specify eye position (Alpern5) but that shown
in Fig. 2 in conjunction with the magnetic field system
offers output signals which are related to the angles
themselves in a reasonably simple way. In what follows,
0, q and 4 will be taken as the definition of the horizontal, vertical and torsional components of gaze.
One can now measure 0 by introducing another magnetic field H, directed along the x axis. This will also induce a voltage in the coil and to distinguish voltages due
to H, and H. one may use time multiplexing, frequency
coding or phase coding. The latter was chosen since it
seems the simplest method and H, is given the form
A. Fick, "Die Bewegungen des menschlichen Augapfels, "Z. rat.
Medizin- N.F., vol. 4, p. 101; 1854.
5 Alpern, op. cit., p. 16.
4

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AC

AMPLIFIER

PHASE
DETECTOR

RECORDER

Fig. 1 A simplified schematic of the use of a scleral field coil

for obtaining the vertical (k) component of eye position.

Fig. 2-The coordinate system of the orbit and the globe defining
the angles of horizontal gaze 0, vertical gaze 4 and torsion 4'.

H, sin ct, that is 900 apart from H2 in phase. The phase

detector of Fig. 1 will reject all quadrature components
in e1 and will continue to produce a signal ed cc sin in
spite of the addition of the H, field. If e1 is now amplified
and phase detected against e, a signal from a stationary
coil intercepting H, only, a dc signal eo is produced proportional to sin 0 cos 0 which is the projection of the coil
onto the y-z plane. Finally, a second coil is wound on
the lens which effectively lies in the y'-z' plane. The
voltage generated in it, e2, is phase detected against e, to
produce a signal proportional to this coil's projection
onto the x-y plane, namely sin 41 cos 0. In short, by the
use of two magnetic fields spatially and temporally
in quadrature and two lens coils in spatial quadrature,
one can, by phase detection, produce the three dc
signals,
eo c sin 6 cos 4
ecc sin 4)
e;, ac sin 41 cos 0.

A more rigorous development will follow.

(3)

Robinson: Measuring Eye Movement Using Search Coil in

1963

Magnetic Field

139

If 0, d> and 1' are all less than 200, sin 0 departs from 0
in radians by less than 2 per cent and cos 'k departs from
unity by less than 6 per cent so that approximately
es oc 0

e,* a: P,X

(4)

and for a good many physiological studies (e.g., fixation), (4) is quite adequate. If not, (3) may be inverted
(assuming the proportionality constants are unity for
simplicity) by
0 - sin-'

f2
(A/ ee1-e)

4 = sin-' (e+)

Fig. 3-Fixation. A twelve second recording of all three components

of eye movement during fixation at highest system gain. Horizontal movement is 0, vertical 4 and torsional 4).

to blink. The lens is held to the eye by suction so that

(5)2 although the lens and ball are depressed (4 <0), adducted (0<0) and extorted (i'>0; note +4' is down in
If the inversion (5) is desired it may be carried out by Fig. 3) by the obicularis oculi (superior tarsal part) they
hand, an on-line analog computer, or a subroutine in a return to their former position as the twitch decays,
digital data reduction program depending on the avail- indicating that the lens has not slipped. Bell's phenomenon which can be seen in a slower, more deliberate blink,
able equipment.
Physically the subject is seated with his head and is not elicited in such a twitch. Fig. 3 shows the highest
shoulders projecting into an open frame 2 ftX2 ftX2 ft sensitivity of which the system is presently capable.
which supports the coils that create H. and Hr. The lens Using one tenth of a major division in Fig. 3 as the criis placed on the eye and kept from slipping by suction. terion for sensitivity, the resolution is 16.9 seconds for
The available visual field is +450 in the vertical and 0, 13.2 seconds for 4 and 52.8 seconds for 4&. This could
horizontal. If necessary the open frame support may be be improved if desired in any of the following ways.
One is to increase the field strength. That used in
moved or tilted with the subject, as is often necessary
Fig. 3 is 3.1 gauss rms and is limited by the power availfor vestibular stimulation.
able (100 watts) to the field coil circuits. Doubling this
ILLUSTRATIONS
power would double the sensitivity. The only limits here
Before discussing the technical details of the instru- are cost and the phosphene threshold of 200 gauss. Anment a few recordings pertaining to several fields of other method is to double the number of turns on the
interest in eye movement are offered for illustrative pur- contact lens (20 instead of 10) which would again
poses. The records were made by an ultraviolet mirror double the sensitivity. Since only 6 per cent of the congalvanometer direct writing recorder with a frequency tact lens mass is copper there is very little penalty in increasing turns. Incorporating these two factors together
response (-3 db) of 1.9 kc.
would cut the resolution by four, that is, to roughly 4
FIXATION
seconds of arc. However, it is clear from Fig. 3 that inFig. 3 is a 12-second record of binocular fixation creasing the gain further makes it quite difficult to mainon a black dot (6.9 min arc) 1 m from the subject in the tain all three traces on the record at once for any reasonprimary position. The foveal saccades, drift and tremor, able length of time.
already well described,'16'7 are clearly visible in all three
STEP RESPONSE
components. The peak-to-peak fluctuations in 0, 4 and
1 are 0.375, 0.293 and 0.1910, respectively, but on
Fig. 4 shows the step response of the instrument itself
longer records all three components may be observed to made by releasing a shorting switch across the lens coils.
wander over a peak-to-peak range of 10. However, for The rise time is 0.5 msec. The slight ringing stems from
the majority of the time during fixation, the eye seems filters in the carrier preamplifier which are designed for a
1 kc bandwidth. The recorder has a damping ratio of
bound in foveal vision to a peak-to-peak range of 0.30.
The blink in Fig. 3 is actually an involuntary twitch of 0.64 and a bandwidth of 1.9 kc. Thus the carrier prethe orbicularis oculi since the subject is attempting not amplifier limits the over-all system bandwidth to 1 kc
which however is more than adequate as Fig. 5, the sac6 T. N. Cornsweet, "Determination of the stimuli for involuntary
drifts and saccadic eye movements," J. Opt, Soc. Am., vol. 46, p. cade or step response of the eye, illustrates. Here the
987; 1956.
7 R. W. Ditchburn and B. L. Ginsberg, "Involuntary eye move- spot on the face of an oscilloscope is projected from behind via an epidiascope lens, onto a translucent screen 2
ments during fixation," J. Physiol. vol. 119, p. 1; 1953.
=

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,n

,/

eo

140

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIO-MEDICAL ELECTRONICS

.10AWC

October

Fig. 4-The step response of the instrument. Time lines, 10 msec

apart; rise time, 0.5 msec; ringing frequency, 1 kc; overshoot less
than 10 per cent.

Fig. 5.-Step response of the eye. Mean central latency, 90 msec;

duration of horizontal movement, 45 msec; duration of vertical
movement, 55 msec; average slewing speed, 280/second.

feet from the subject. At the point in time, indicated by

the bottom trace, the spot is switched from the primary
position to a spot up and to the subject's left at 450 by a
slant distance which subtends 150 at the subject's eye.
The central latency of 90 msec is atypically short indicating learning and anticipation by the subject. The behavior of 14 is in accordance with Listing's law which will
be discussed shortly. It is difficult to determine if the
latencies in 0 and q5 are the same because of the smooth
nature of the initial rise, but within the time resolution
of the record (about 1 msec) they appear the same.
However, their subsequent behaviors run different time
courses, the horizontal movement (6) taking 45 msec for
completion with a peak slewing speed of 292 per second
while both vertical (4) and torsional (4') movements take
55 msec with a peak vertical slewing speed of 2630 per
second. The result is that the eye spins for the bulk of
the transient at a slant angle of 33 rather than 450.
When the a transient is complete, the eye is still about
30 below the target and finishes by a purely vertical
movement.
The time course in Fig. 5 shows neither the overshoot
and ringing obtained by Westheimer5 with corneal reflection or the overdamped approach often found with
the electro-oculogram, neither of which places a burden
on the eye. If the eye were a rigid body, its moment of
inertia would be about 4.12 dyne cm sec2 but since the
vitreous body lags considerably9 the moment of inertia
seen by the muscles during a saccade is probably much
less. The moment of inertia of the contact lens is 0.815
dyne cm sec2, so that its added burden is not negligible.
This is seen in Fig. 5 in the small initial acceleration.
Similar results were obtained by Yarbus10 using a suction contact lens.

Electromyographic evidence,"1 while inconclusive

about active checking, does show that a pair of antagonistic muscles exert much more torque during a saccade
than is necessary to maintain the eye in the new position. This is reminiscent of a dead beat posicast control
system'2 in which the extra torque is turned off shortly
before the movement is completed. Fig. 5 indicates that
the turnoff times to the six extraocular muscles are not
coincident since the horizontal recti complete their
movement in 0 10 msec before the vertical recti and
obliques as a group finish their action in 4 and 4'. This
would then be supporting evidence for two distinct premotor reticular formation nuclei, one of which organizes horizontal gaze, while the other organizes vertical
and torsional gaze together."2

I G. Westheimer, 'Mechanisms of saccadic eye movements,'

AMA Arch. Ophthal., vol. 52, p. 110; 1954.
9 A. C. Hilding, "Normal vitreous, its attachments and dynamics
during ocular movement," AMA Arch. Ophthal., vol. 52, p. 497; 1954.
10 A. L. Yarbus, "The motion of the eye in the process of changing
fixation points," Biofizika, vol. 1, p. 76; 1956. (In Russian.)

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TRACKING
In Fig. 6, a projected spot from an oscilloscope is
made to move in a circle at 4 seconds per revolution.
Let a be the angle to the spot measured around the
circle from the left horizontal axis and ,B be the radius of
the circle subtended at the subject's eye, in this case
150. The angles 0 and 4 are then given by
tan 0 = tan S cos a
tan 4 = sin ,B sin a.
(6)
In this case 6 and 4 trace out two sine waves 90 apart
as shown in the record. The bottom trace is the horizontal component of the circle and acts as a time reference. The usual corrective saccades and smooth pursuit
modes"4 are visible. The subject has learned the pattern
11 J. E. Miller, "Electromyographic pattern of saccadic eye movements," Am. J. Ophthal., vol. 46, p. 183; 1958.
12 O. J. M. Smith, "Posicast control of damped oscillatory systems," PROC. IRE, vol. 45, pp. 1249-1255; September, 1957.
13 J. Szentagothai, "Anatomical basis of visuo-vestibular coordination of motility," Proc. Internat'l Union of Physiol. Sciences,
Leiden, The Netherlands; vol. 1, p. 485; 1962.
14 L. R. Young, "A Sampled Data Model for Eye Tracking Movements," Sc. D. dissertation, Mass. Inst. Tech., Cambridge; 1962.

1963

141

Robinson: Measuring Eye Movement Using Search Coil in a Magnetic Field

Fig. 6-Circle tracking. Radius of circle, 15; frequency, 4 seconds

per cycle. Torsion 4, follows a double frequency course according
to Listing's law.

Fig. 7-Foveal nystagmus. Left ear irrigated slowly at 47C during

fixation. Slow phase limited to about 1 due to fixation reflex.
0= -0.583/second, 0=0, 4= -0.5330/second. Equivalent rotation is 7.6 minutes per revolution.

and so tracks both components with little or no phase

COMPLETE DERIVATION OF OUTPUT SIGNALS
lag.
Listing's law', is the observation that, during volunLet the vectors
tary gaze, the eye rotates from the primary position to
A1' = A,li' + A1Ij' + A 1k'
any other by spinning about an axis lying in the x-z
plane. This removes one degree of freedom from volunA2' = A 2.i' + A 2J,' + A 2zk'
(8)
tary gaze, and 4, may be expressed in terms of 0 and 4 or,
represent the areas of the two lens coils. When the lens
in a simpler fashion, through (6) by
is centered correctly on the eye (8) becomes
sin 2CY
tan4'
(7)
A1' = A iy,
cos 2a + cot2 I 3
A2' = A 2zi'.
(9)
In tracking a circle, a increases linearly with time, ,B
is constant and 4' becomes a double frequency com- Let Hi sin wt and H2 cos wt be the two alternating magponent making two complete cycles for each revolution netic fields which in the unprimed coordinate system are
as shown in Fig. 6, reaching its peaks at all odd multi- aligned so that
ples of 450 in a.
CALORIC NYSTAGMUS
Fig. 7 is produced by irrigation of the left ear with
water at 470 C. The subject's head and field coils are
tilted back by 300 to aid in eliciting a response from the
lateral canal. The subject is fixating and the irrigation is
sufficiently slow as to prevent uncontrolled nystagmus
with concomitant vertigo and nausea. This is indicated
by the scales which show that the fixation reflex will permit, on the average, only 10 of slow phase movement
before a corrective saccade. The slow phase rates are
-0.583 per second for d, none discernible for + and
-0.533 per second for 4 (+, is downward). Vectorially
summing these spins leads to an "effective" rotation of
the inertial reference.frame by a magnitude of 0.790 per
second (7.6 minutes per revolution) along an axis lying
in the y-z plane 480 below the y axis. The stimulus is
thus very near threshold for the ampullae of the canals,
if indeed a threshold exists.
15 J. P. C. Southall, ed., "Helmholtz's Treatise on Physiological
Optics," The Optical Society of America, Rochester, N. Y., trans.
from the 3rd German ed., vol. III; pp. 37-123; 1925.

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(10)

H2 = Hzk.

The transformation between the two coordinate systems of Fig. 2 is

A= MA'
where the matrix M is

The coil voltages in general are

en

Nn(Hi A0)w

cos cot -

N0(H2-A0)o. sin ct;

n =

1, 2

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIO-MEDICAL ELECTRONICS

142

or, if the areas are expressed in the primed system,

en NXI? [(Hi - MAl') coswt - (H2 AJiA,') sin WI]i;
1, 2. (12)
,II
Specifically for (9), (10), and using (11)
el= .A,X,lco[H. sin 0 cos q cos cot- H sin 4 sin cot]
e,-A,AxXC,[Hx(cos 0 cos 4-+ sin 0 sin 1 sin 41) cos wt
+ H, cos 0 sin 41 sin cot]. (13)
The detection signals are
ex E cos cot
(14)
e, - E sin cot.

PLEXIBU2
POLYVINYL TUBING

CORNEA

4. TIGHTLY TWISTED

>

.%rAIP-

PLANO

SURFACE OF

1.4
685

NO.38 MAUNET

October
LENS

t ~~~-19,

5 MM

COIL 1

12.?

_U6

6.2

CONTACT

.3

\S-LERA

~,12. 7

ALL DIMENSIONS IN MM

(a)
COIL 1

1/2 EFFECTIVE

AREA OF COIL 2
Phase detection mar be represented by mlultiplication
2, N,
and averaging. Let Hz Hy=5 H, lyIZ 1,l ,
N- N for simplicity-. Then,
(1,)
eo = elex [L A ATH cG] sin 0 cos 0
Flg. 8 (a) Desigin of suctionl contact leins. (b3 Plan of ,v inding for
coils 1 anid 2 showing the effec tive sagittal area of coil 2. Onie tUrn
e6 = eie- [AA NH woG] sinqf
onix is showni, acttual lens carried 10 turnis in each coil.
e,;- Ce- = [,A, XH wG] sin 4 cos A
(15)
where G is the lum-iped gain of all ac and dc amplifiers. ably unavoidable with any type of suctioIn lens that
This derivation illustrates the mnethod whereby7 one mayr seats near the limibus, indicates that 30 miin slhoulcd he
calculate sources of error dule to such things as lack of set as a limit on the duration of experimiients. Slit lamiip
phase and spatial quadrature of the magnetic fields, investigation of the cornea after wearing the lenis reveals
lack of spatial quadrature of the lens coils, imlproper no hydration or anoxia. The interior surface of the lenis
is coated with a contact lens wettinig agent (e.g.,
lens alignment and phase shifts in the amplifiers.
Soaclens, Burton, Parsonis and Co.) to prevent fogginig.
A negative pressure of -40 num Hg (fromll a mercury
THE CONTACT LENS
holds the lens well and prevents slipping in
manometer)
Fig. 8(a) shows a scale drawing of the lens used. The
in 4 is much harder to conitrol due to
0
and
Slipping
.
optical portion is an afocal or plano lens with a radius of
of the lenis. Thle use of 60
the
cylindrical
symmetry
curvature of 8.8 mm, 0.3 mm thick, 12 miml in diameter
is
but
the
upper limllit in this directioni,
of commercial manufacture.'" The scleral portion is mnm Hg helps
machined from methyl methacrylate plastic (Lucite) since the cornea begins to bulge slowl\ causinig temllinto which the lens is cemented. The coils are 10 turns porary curvature inyopia after about 20 iminlutes.
of No. 44 magnet wire cemented in slots in the scleral Scalloping the surface of the lens in contact with the
portion. Fig. 8(b) shows the winding scheme which en- sclera is also an aid but the degree to which this can be
Smooth ridges 0.2 mm-hiigh
ables coil 2 to have an effective area vector along the x' carried is not vet known.
4 and irreversible displacemiients
in
drifts
slow
prevent
axis. The air pocket over the cornea is 1 mm thick and
is vented by a laterally placed pipe leading to a very due to an obicularis oculi twitch but during a comiiplete
soft thin polyvinyl tubing. The scleral skirt is limited blink, the force of the lids on the suction pipe coupled
the lens in 41 to a
radially to 5 mm to prevent interference with the with Bell's phenomenon will displaceis also a source
of
suction
The
tubing
new
position.
fornices, the superior being the least accommodating.
to the eve despite
it
since
torques
apply
may
annoyance
The scleral radius of curvature is already in general
Some thought is being given to
clinical use and in view of the corneal clearances allowed its extreme flexibility.
the
lens without the presence of a
this lens should be applicable to the adult human eye methods of evacuating
alleviate both of the above
without the need of special fitting. The lens is applied suction tube which would
of contact lenses used
discussion
with the aid of a corneal anesthetic (e.g. Ophthaine, E. R. problems. An excellent
studies, especially the "suck on" variSquibb and Sons). The effect wears off in about 15 min, in eye movement
Barlow.'7
but once the lens is in place it may be worn beyond this ety, has been presented by the coil
to
made
by mleans of pockets
is
assembly
Lead
time. Although the limbal diameter of the lens is 14 mmll,
ends are held with conducting
anterior chamber drainage is impeded. Intraocular into which the bared wire
enables
This
silver
repair if the leads break. To
epoxy.
pressure rises from normal (15 mm Hg) to 22 mm Hg in
in the departing leads, they are a
20 min with a lens suction of 40 mm Hg and returns to prevent flux linkages
Once outside
normal in about 10 minutes. This consideration, prob- twisted pair of fine magnet wire (No. 38).
17 H. B. Barlow, "Slippage of contact lenses and other artifacts in
16 Acknowledgment is dtue to Danker and \W6hlk, Inc. for their
relation to fading and regeneration of supposedly stable retinal
==

generotus assistance.

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images," Qucart. J Exp. Psychol., vol. 15, p. 36; 1963.

1963

143

Robinson: Measuring Eye Movement Using Search Coil in a Magnetic Field

lk

Fig. 9 Complete schematic of the instrument for eye position.

the field, a connector, magnetically shielded (a short

length of iron pipe), allows the change over to more conventional coaxial conductors. In this connection it is
best to keep the associated electronic apparatus at least
6 feet away from the field coils to prevent flux linkages
with low level amplifier stages.
CIRCUITRY
The complete circuit is shown in Fig. 9. An attempt
has been made to use standard parts where possible and
with the exception of the field coils there are only a
handful of components that require special mounting
and wiring. The parts list is as follows:
1) Oscillator, Hewlett Packard Mod 200B or equivalent (10 volts, 4.8 kc, 600 Q source impedance)
2) Ti, any audio transformer with a step-up voltage
ratio of about 5 and negligible phase shift at 4.8 kc
3) Power amplifiers, EICO Mod HF-89, Dual 50watt amplifier
4) C, Antenna coupling capacitors, 0.06 Afd, Aerovox
Corp. Mod 1590, LS-242
5) Field coils, to be described
6) Contact lens, see above
7) ac amplifiers, phase detectors and dc amplifiers:
Sanborn Co., carrier preamplifier Mod 350-110GB
(for 4.8 kc) and power supply Mod 350-SOOAP.
One for each of three channels, 0, 4 and V(

8) Recorder, Minneapolis Honeywell Regulator Co.,

Visicorder Mod 1108.

Each of the field coils, of which there are four, have
the following specifications:

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Turns
Wire size
Turns per layer
Mean-coil radius
Coil width and height

WAeight

dc resistance

ac resistance (at 4.8

IndLuctance
Q at 4.8 kc

kc)

80
No. 13

10
1 foot

1 inich X 1 inch
7.84 lbs
0.5 S2
6 52
9.3 mh
46.8

To create each field two such coils are mounted coaxially 2 feet apart, wired in series with the series tuning
capacitor placed between them. The coil pairs are supported by an open frame of 1 inch wooden dowlings that
form a cube 2 feet on an edge. The H., field coils are
taped to the left and right surfaces of the cube, the H3
coils on the top and bottom. The subject sits in a wooden
chair so that his shoulders pass through the bottom coil
and rests his chin on a support which places the eye that
is to wear the lens near the geometric center of the cube.
The coils, after several wraps of 0.010 inch insulation,
are wrapped with aluminum foil which is grounded to
prevent electrostatic pickup in the lens coils. This
shield is also a safety feature in case of insulation failure
since the voltage across each coil is 423 volts.
A 2 Q, 10 w series resistor is placed in each field circuit to lower the Q and to provide a voltage by which
the x field can drive the z field. Each field circuit has the
following characteristics at a current of 1.5 amperes:
Total resistance
&.L
Total Q
Power consumption
Total reactive voltage
Amplifier output voltage
Ampere turns

14 Q
562 Q
40
31.5 watts
859 volts
21 volts
120

144

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIO-M4EDICAL ELECTRONICS

FIELD STRENGTH AND UNIFORMITY

The field strength midway between two field coils of
radius R, coaxially aligned and spaced a distance 2d
apart, each carrying NI ampere turns is
H(0=

4wrXNR2
10(R2 + d2)3/2

oersteds.

(16)

If one calculates the rate H/.Ho at which H changes as

one moves a distance 6 along the axis or 6 off the axis or
the rate of increase (from zero) /Hn/Ho of the flux conmponent Hn perpendicular to the axis upon sinmultaneously moving 6 along and 6 off the axis, it is possible to
derive the conditions on R and d that simultaneously
minimize all three sources of error. This condition is
R

/ /8 d - 1.07d.
V 7

(17)

This is so nearly unity that for convenience we shall set

R = d whence (16) becomes
xI
4irNI 1
= 0.444
- H0 =
(18)
R
10V/23 R
and the error in field uniformity (first order approximation) is found to be
zH 9 a \2
(19)
8k. R)
Ho

Eq. (19) is a criterion for coil design R based on acceptable uniformity (AH/Ho vs 6) while (18) dictates
the needed ampere turns (and so power) to then create a
given field strength. For the case at hand, R = 1 foot was
chosen to accommodate the subject's shoulders. From
(19), if 6 is 1.13 inches the error is 1 per cent which
limits, for this error, the eye to a cube 2.26 inches on an
edge centered about the midpoint between the field
coils. From (18), at 1.5 amperes, the field strength is
1.75 oersted rms (R must be expressed as 30.5 cm).
Since this yields a suitable resolution of the instrument
the choice of R - 1 foot is satisfactory. Other considerations may dictate a different choice for R. For example,
if more freedom of movement of the subject (human or
animal) were desirable, R could be increased by 10
allowing 22.6 inches of movement in a 1 per cent uniform field. The field strength and resolution would drop
by 10 (2.5 min of arc for the latter) unless more power
was applied. On the other hand it might be feasible to
decrease R to the point where the field coils could be
worn in a helmet by the subject giving him "tether"
mobility.
The magnetic fields are maintained in quadrature by
the series feedback shown around the power amplifiers.
The feedback winding consists of two turns wound
around either field coil of a pair. The turns ratio is thus
80:1 which is twice the Q of the load. It can be shown
that if E is the input voltage coming from either the
oscillator or T1 and I is the field current in that channel,

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Oc lober

the transfer function after feedback between

I(s)

GY(s)

E(s)

r
t +
G--GI(s)
coo 2

themii

is

(20)

where G is amplifier gain (36.4), r is total load resistanice

(14 Q) and wo is the resonant frequency (4.8 kc). The
feedback ratio is
1
r
2woL
1

2Q
Y (s) =

sL + r +

1
SC

is the load admittance. For s =jw and G>>1 (20) is approximately

I (s)
wo 2

E(s)

oco

which indicates that the field current lags the channiiel

input voltage by 900. Since the z field is driven fromii a
voltage developed across the 2 Q resistor in the x circuit
and consequently in phase with the x field current, the z
current is locked in by the feedback to be in cluadrature
with the x current. Without such feedback, with a Q
of 40, a drift of 0.25 per cent in oscillator frequency
would cause a phase shift of 11.30 from quadrature between the two fields HX and Hz. To the phase demiiodulators this would appear as a physical skewinig of the
fields in space by 11.30 which means that 0 aind . would
be measured in reference to a skewed coordiniate sy stem. Further analysis of (20) shows that the rate of
phase shift with detuning is attenuated by 1/(2G2) after
feedback. Quantitatively this is a factor of 2640 which
practically eliminates the effect of oscillator or conmponent drift on field quadrature.
Phase shift in the cables or ac amplifiers will cause a
similar skewing of the coordinate system or what is the
same thing, apparent cross modulation between the
angles 0, 0 and if. The choice of what shall be called a
purely horizontal nmovemnent (0) or a purely vertical
movement (0) is somewhat arbitrary but it is convenient
to establish them in the nornmal sense in the field of
vision of the subject. To accomiiplish this, at the beginning of an experiment, the subject is showni a field coIntaining a dot in the primary position and four dots located above, below, left and right of the primary position. These dots are then taken as the definition of
horizontal and vertical. After the lens is in place
the subject looks left and right, and up and down at
the test dots while the demodulator excitation voltages eZ, e,O and e4,p are phase shifted until cross nmodulation is eliminated. Phase shifting is accomplished by injecting in series with a given voltage, another voltage in
quadrature whose magnitude can be controlled by the

Stratbucker et a!.: Magnetocardiogram

1963

phase adjust potentiometers shown in Fig. 9. The excitation voltages are picked up across two turn windings
(5 volts per turn at a field current of 1.5 amperes) on the
appropriate field coil. This voltage is balanced to ground
through 200 Q resistors according to manufacturers'
recommendations. The required excitation voltage at
the carrier preamplifier should be 4.5 volts rms and
should be stepped down by fixed attenuators not shown
in Fig. 9. The local oscillator in the Sanborn Co. carrier
preamplifiers may be deactivated simply by removing its
plug-in coupling transformer. The carrier preamplifier
contains a dc amplifier after demodulation and filtering
which creates a single ended output voltage of + 3 volts
full scale across 1000 Q. Channel gain is varied by
means of a fixed step attenuator at the front end of the
ac amplifier. The Sanborn power supply Mod 350500AP contains a transistor dc amplifier with unity

voltage gain, a frequency response of 10 kc and a full

scale output of + 2.5 volts across 50 Q. This offers an
available current of +50 ma full scale which is fed
directly to a mirror galvanometer (Mod 1650) in the
recorder which is fluid damped to a factor of 0.64, has a
bandwidth of 1900 cycles per second and a sensitivity
of + 10 cm deflection for +37 ma. An oscilloscope
monitor is helpful. If eo and e, are placed on the horizontal and vertical plates of the oscilloscope one obtains
a frontal projection of the movement of a hypothetic
spot on the center of the pupil.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author wishes to thank Dr. M\I. E. Langham of
Wilmer Institute for ophthalmological counsel and
guidance and Dr. C. F. Hazlewood and Mr. W. J.
Sullivan for cooperating in the experiments.

The Magnetocardiogram

New Approach

to the Fields Surrounding the

R. A. STRATBUCKERt, MEMBER, IEEE, C. M.

HYDEJ,

Summary-Experiments have been conducted which reveal the

existence of a detectable magnetic field associated with cardiac electrical activity. The relationship between the magnetic record and the
electrocardiogram has been explored and it is shown that under certain conditions of axis orientation the voltage induced into a toroidal
sensing element around the heart has the form of the first time derivative of the electrocardiogram. A formula based on Maxwell's
equations has been developed to relate these two phenomona.

145

Heart*

SENIOR MEMBER, IEEE, AND

S. E. WIXSON||

electric potential and electric field intensity.

Time-varying electric fields associated with the conduction process in the heart (or any other irritable tissue) create the familiar time-varying potentials at
points within and on the boundary of the medium surrounding the tissue. Maxwell's equations' predict the
existence of a magnetic field associated with any timevarying electric field. The concept of a biologically produced magnetic field was suggested in 1958 by Valentinuzzi2 in his classic treatise on magnetobiology. Apparently the suggestion was not subjected to experimental verification. Although considerable literature
has accumulated on the influence of magnetic fields on
biological systems, it appears that the first successful
recording of the magnetic field associated with mnembrane electrical activity occurred in 1960 when Seipel
and Morrow3 reported the detection of a magnetic field

Received April 19, 1963; revised manuscript received August 20,

1963. The research reported in this paper was supported in part by
the U. S. Public Health Service, Grant No. HE0133710.
t Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of
Medicine, University of Nebraska, Omaha, Nebr.
t Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Nebraska,
Lincoln, Nebr.
1 Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. Formerly with NIH Biomedical-Electronics Trainee, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebr.

I S. Ramo and J. R. Whinnery, "Fields and Waves in

Modern
Radio," John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, N. Y., 2nd ed., pp.
177-206; 1953.
2 M. Valentinuzzi, "Curso de Magnetobiologia y Complementos
de Magnetoquimica," School of Medicine, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Published in English by Tech. Info. Center, Space and Info. Div.,
North Am. Aviation, Inc., Downey, Calif., p. 106; October, 1961.
3J. H. Seipel and R. D. Morrow, "The magnetic field accompanying neuronal activity. A new method for the study of the nervous
system," J. TVashington Acad. Sci., vol. 50, pp. 1-4; October, 1960.

INTRODUCTION
E ARLY DEVELOPMENT of electrocardiography
was based upon the concepts of static field
theory. The fundamental nature of this dependence has continued to be recognized to the extent that
the most recent contributions to this important branch
of medicine deal almost exclusively with the concepts of
*

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