Measurement of change in eye surface temperature in response to blinking

Abstract

In this study, the surface temperature of the eye was measured by radiation thermometer and the behavior of blink was recorded by video camera for two subjects. As the results, it was shown that the surface temperature of the eyeball decreased during opening eyes, and that the decrease reached 0.5 to 1.0 ℃. In addition, it was found that the time of closing eyes during a blink became longer when the interval of blinking was assigned to 5 or 3 seconds, which was longer than her/his natural blink interval. At the same time, the temperature of upper eyelid during closing eyes was shown to be higher than that of the eyeball, and thus the heat exchange between the eyeball and the eyelid during blink accounts for this. These results can be a basis for the quantitative evaluation of evaporation and accumulation of tears and for clarifying the indoor thermal environmental condition to prevent the sensation of dryness at the eye.