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Abstract Objective Eye tracking technology has been employed in assessing ocular motor and vestibular function following vestibular and neurologic conditions, including traumatic brain injury (TBI). Assessments include tests that provide visual and motion (rotation) stimuli while recording horizontal, vertical, and torsional eye movements. While some of these tests have shown diagnostic promise in previous studies, their use in clinical practice is limited by the lack of normative data. The goal of this study was to construct normative reference ranges to be used when comparing patients' results. Methods Optokinetic response, subjective visual horizontal and vertical, and rotation tests were administered to male and female volunteers, ages 18‐45, who were free from neurological, vestibular disorders, or other head injuries. Tests were administered using either a rotatory chair or a portable virtual reality‐like goggle equipped with video‐oculography. Results Reference values for eye movements in response to different patterns of stimuli were analyzed from 290 to 449 participants. Analysis of gender (self‐reported) or age when grouped as pediatric (late adolescent; 18‐21 years of age) and adult (21‐45 years of age) revealed no effects on the test metrics. Data were pooled and presented for each test metric as the 95% reference interval (RI) with 90% confidence intervals (CI) on upper and lower limits of the RI. Conclusions This normative database can serve as a tool to aid in diagnosis, treatment, and/or rehabilitation protocols for vestibular and neurological conditions, including mild TBI (mTBI). This database has been cleared by the FDA for use in clinical practice (K192186). Level of evidence 2b

In this paper, we describe the upgrade of a small electrostatic dust accelerator located at the University of Stuttgart. The newly developed dust source, focusing lens, differential detector and linac stage were successfully installed and tested in the beam line. The input voltage range of the dust source was extended from 0–20 kV to 0–30 kV. A newly developed dust detector with two differential charge sensitive amplifiers is employed to monitor particles with speeds from several m/s to several km/s and with surface charges above 0.028 fC. The post-stage linac provides an additional acceleration ability with a total voltage of up to 120 kV. The entire system of this dust accelerator works without protection gas and without a complex high voltage terminal. The volumes to be pumped down are small and can be quickly evacuated. The new system was used to accelerate micron- and submicron-sized metal particles or coated mineral materials. Improvements in the acceleration system allow for a wider variety of dust materials and new applications.

Eye movements measured by high precision eye-tracking technology represent a sensitive, objective, and non-invasive method to probe functional neural pathways. Oculomotor tests (e.g., saccades and smooth pursuit), tests that involve cognitive processing (e.g., antisaccade and predictive saccade), and reaction time tests have increasingly been showing utility in the diagnosis and monitoring of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in research settings. Currently, the adoption of these tests into clinical practice is hampered by a lack of a normative data set. The goal of this study was to construct a normative database to be used as a reference for comparing patients' results. Oculomotor, cognitive, and reaction time tests were administered to male and female volunteers, aged 18-45, who were free of any neurological, vestibular disorders, or other head injuries. Tests were delivered using either a rotatory chair equipped with video-oculography goggles (VOG) or a portable virtual reality-like VOG goggle device with incorporated infrared eye-tracking technology. Statistical analysis revealed no effects of age on test metrics when participant data were divided into pediatric (i.e.,18-21 years, following FDA criteria) and adult (i.e., 21-45 years) groups. Gender (self-reported) had an effect on auditory reaction time, with males being faster than females. Pooled data were used to construct a normative database using 95% reference intervals (RI) with 90% confidence intervals on the upper and lower limits of the RI. The availability of these RIs readily allows clinicians to identify specific metrics that are deficient, therefore aiding in rapid triage, informing and monitoring treatment and/or rehabilitation protocols, and aiding in the return to duty/activity decision. This database is FDA cleared for use in clinical practice (K192186).