LeDuc Patricia A, Greig Joanna L, Dumond Shannen L
Aircrew Health and Performance Division, US Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Ft. Rucker, AL 36362, USA.
Aviat Space Environ Med. 2005 Jul;76(7 Suppl):C86-91.
AH-64 Apache helicopter pilots fly the aircraft using a monocular helmet-mounted display that provides imagery from two separate forward-looking infrared sensors mounted on the nose of the aircraft. Studies have documented complaints of fatigue, headaches, and visual problems associated with the use of this sighting system. The goals of this study were: 1) to quantify possible flight-induced fatigue in Apache aviators; and 2) to evaluate minimally intrusive neurophysiologic measures of fatigue for potential use in operational environments.
Using a pre/post design, we assessed self-reported levels of alertness, physical, cognitive, and visual fatigue, and ocular indices of fatigue obtained using an instrument specifically designed to capture various eye responses. Data were contributed to this study by 53 aviators.
Significant differences in all pre- and postflight ocular responses were observed. Pupil size and constriction latency increased while constriction amplitude and saccadic velocity decreased. Significant pre- and postflight differences were also seen on all self-report measures. Pilots reported being less alert and more fatigued following flight.
We found that flight in an AH-64 Apache was a significant factor in producing changes in ocular and self-report measures similar to those produced by sleep loss.
AH-64“阿帕奇”直升机飞行员通过单目头盔显示器驾驶飞机，该显示器提供来自安装在飞机机头的两个独立前视红外传感器的图像。研究记录了与使用该瞄准系统相关的疲劳、头痛和视觉问题的投诉。本研究的目标是：1）量化“阿帕奇”飞行员可能因飞行引起的疲劳；2）评估在作战环境中可能使用的侵入性最小的疲劳神经生理学测量方法。
采用前后设计，我们评估了自我报告的警觉性、身体、认知和视觉疲劳水平，以及使用专门设计用于捕捉各种眼部反应的仪器获得的眼部疲劳指标。53名飞行员为该研究提供了数据。
观察到飞行前后所有眼部反应均存在显著差异。瞳孔大小和收缩潜伏期增加，而收缩幅度和扫视速度降低。在所有自我报告测量中也观察到飞行前后的显著差异。飞行员报告称飞行后警觉性降低，疲劳感增强。
我们发现，驾驶AH-64“阿帕奇”直升机飞行是导致眼部和自我报告测量变化的一个重要因素，这些变化与睡眠不足所产生的变化类似。
