The Psychomotor Cognition Test for Measurement of Sleepiness/Fatigue on a Touch Screen^*

Abstract

The Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) is a simple and reliable performance test that measures sustained attention, alertness level, and fatigue level. The PVT is a convenient tool that can be used in real time in situ through a mobile device without the assistance of experts and therefore can be used to improve safety and prevent accidents. However, the original PVT is vulnerable to the subject's intentional concentration on the test, and the variance range among tests is narrow; these factors limit its usefulness in classifying the level of fatigue. This study overcome these limitations and develop the Psychomotor Cognition Test (PCT) by transforming the PVT into a tool that stably classifies fatigue levels, still requiring a short period of time. In the PCT, compared to the PVT, reaction time is significantly longer, and success rate is significantly lower (both p<0.0001). Whereas reaction time and success rate of the PVT do not show a significant correlation with fatigue level, those of the PCT show significant correlations with fatigue level, respectively (p<0.001). This study suggests that the PCT can be used in real time in situ as a risk management tool for workers performing dangerous tasks and can become an even more powerful tool when combined with other physiological indicators.