Integration of Pupillometry and Heart Rate Variability to Assess Cognitive and Physical Load Within High Stimulus Roles

Integration of Pupillometry and Heart Rate Variability to Assess Cognitive and Physical Load Within High Stimulus Roles

High stimulus environments can have a substantial impact on human performance in various operational scenarios such paramedics and military personnel. This impact on performance can be in the form of physical fatigue, sustained attention deficits, and critical thinking deficits which can have significant impact on successful task completion and has potential negative outcomes of medical mismanagement such as within roles like paramedicine, and even death within military operations. However, there is a gap in objective monitoring between physiological and cognitive loading. Heart rate variability is known as a gold standard measure of physiological fatigue and evaluates the modulation of the autonomic nervous system, which is the same system responsible for changes in pupil behavior to various internal and environmental stimuli. This autonomic response of pupil behavior (pupillometry) is influenced by cognitive load and fatigue and has potential to provide valuable insight into operational readiness through integration of physiological assessment of heart rate variability. This review will provide a look into the gap in performance monitoring research and potential future pathways of pupil and heart rate variability integration.

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