Federal Grant Award Summary

Carolina Instruments, Inc. received a $313,927 Project Grant from the National Eye Institute (NEI) under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867), awarded July 15, 2026, with completion targeted for May 31, 2027. The company is developing PUPIL-LIGHT, a wearable platform technology designed to capture high-speed, high-fidelity measurements of saccades (rapid eye movements), microsaccades, and pupil dynamics in real-time. The device addresses critical limitations in existing wearable eye-tracking systems by employing a camera-free design that uses photoplethysmography techniques with lightweight, low-cost materials to achieve unprecedented precision in pupil dynamics measurement without generating large volumes of video data.

The PUPIL-LIGHT system delivers a noninvasive, compact wearable prototype capable of simultaneously measuring fine eye movements and pupil size while eliminating the sampling rate and precision constraints of conventional eye-tracking technologies. This advancement enables neuroscientists and physicians to capture physiological signals previously unrecordable in field settings, supporting progress in neuroscience research and clinical diagnostic applications. The project will optimize the device's saccade and microsaccade detection functions and validate accuracy in the wearable prototype, building on preliminary proof-of-concept studies that have demonstrated successful acquisition of saccades and pupillary responses.