Patent 7556604 was granted and assigned to National Institute of Information and Communications Technology on July, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A cognitive capacity measuring device utilizes an image display unit for displaying different kinds of images that have been degraded from an original photographic object. A subject can provide an input when he/she discerns the photographic object in the degraded image. Recognition time periods are recorded and matched with predetermined challenge level data parameters to calculate a cognitive capacity of the subject. A statistically significant number of test subjects provide recognition times relative to a specific degraded image so that a normal distribution from a frequency distribution of the number of subjects in relationship to a logarithm of the recognition times can be determined. The normal distribution along with the challenge level parameters can provide an indication of the subject's cognitive capabilities.