PURPOSE: Pupillary examination is an important objective method to diagnose lesions of the anterior visual pathways. However, errors and faults may easily alter the interpretation and value of the test as it is highly dependent on the examiner's skills. Therefore, we tried to develop a pupillography which is independent of the examiner. METHODS: Hardware composed of a binocularly measuring instrument adapted for an infrared charge coupled device (CCD) was developed. Two arrays of infrared light emitting diodes (LED) were supplied in front of each of the subject's eyes. A microcontroller to modulate these LED was developed, as was software to save and analyze the pupil images. The hardware was able to deliver a light to either eye or to both eyes, and to change the time, frequency, and intensity of the stimulus. The software automatically analyzed the pupil size and location by image processing. Pupil size was calculated continuously. After artifact elimination, the response amplitudes of the pupils were determined for the right and left pupils. RESULTS: Pupillary images of size 320 x 240, at 30 frames/second, were saved and processed to evaluate the change of the actual pupil size and the velocity of pupillary response. CONCLUSIONS: A pupillography to measure, save and analyze the pupillary response using image processing was developed. Further detailed clinical studies with a large number of patients will be required to validate this new method.
Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological/*instrumentation ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; *Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; *Reflex, Pupillary

BACKGROUND: We investigated the therapeutic effects of resistance training on Zucker rats before and after the onset of diabetes to understand the importance of the timing of exercise intervention. We assessed whether 8 weeks of resistance training ameliorated impaired glucose tolerance and altered muscle fiber type composition in Zucker rats. METHODS: Five-week-old male Zucker rats were divided into Zucker lean control (ZLC-Con), non-exercised Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF-Con), and exercised Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF-Ex) groups. The ZDF-Ex rats climbed a ladder three times a week for 8 weeks. Intraperitoneal glucose tolerance tests (IPGTT) were performed on the 1st and 8th weeks of training, and grip strength was measured during the last week. We also measured glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) expression by Western blot and immunofluorescence. Moreover, immunohistochemistry was performed to assess muscle fiber type composition. RESULTS: Fasting glucose levels and area under the curve responses to IPGTTs gradually increased as diabetes progressed in the ZDF-Con rats but decreased in the ZDF-Ex rats. Grip strength decreased in the ZDF-Con rats. However, resistance training did not improve grip strength in the ZDF-Ex rats. GLUT4 expression in the ZLC-Con and the ZDF-Con rats did not differ, but it increased in the ZDF-Ex rats. The proportions of myosin heavy chain I and II were lower and higher, respectively, in the ZDF-Con rats compared to the ZLC-Con rats. Muscle fiber type composition did not change in the ZDF-Ex rats. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that regular resistance training initiated at the onset of diabetes can improve glucose tolerance and GLUT4 expression without changing muscle morphology in Zucker rats.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Fasting ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Glucose Transport Proteins, Facilitative ; Glucose* ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Myosin Heavy Chains ; Rats ; Rats, Zucker* ; Resistance Training*