A recently published study in the US journal Concussion suggests that new eye-tracking technology may be a more accurate measure of brain injury that any other diagnostic measure currently being used.
The technology works by measuring eye movements whilst patients watch a music video. Multiple measures of each eye’s movement, followed by comparisons of their positions over time are used to distinguish between normal subjects and those with concussion.
According to the leader of the study, Dr Uzma Samadani, the major challenge for any technology proposed as a biomarker for concussion is first defining concussion: “… there is no gold standard diagnostic, no blood test, and no imaging study for definitively concluding that a patient has experienced a concussion. We use symptom severity scales and standardized cognitive examination assessments but the imperfect nature of these may result in incorrect subject classification. Potentially, eye tracking may be more accurate than it appears, because of its objective appraisal of a complicated process of coordination that may be impaired.”
Dr. Samadani proposes that eye tracking will help diagnose and classify brain injury and concussion, and describes the process as non-invasive, inexpensive and extremely quick.
Dr. David Cifu, the Herman J. Flax, M.D. Professor and Chair of Rehabilitation at Virginia Commonwealth University, Senior TBI Specialist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Principal Investigator of the VA/Department of Defense Chronic Effects of NeuroTrauma Consortium commented on the study:
“This innovative research by Samadani and colleagues highlights a novel approach to objectively and rapidly support the diagnosis of acute concussion using a novel technique of assessing eye tracking. This publication may represent the first step in the development of a more exacting method of diagnosing and monitoring recovery from traumatic brain injury. Computerized assessment of eye tracking may represent the first truly useful biomarker of TBI.”
Brain injury is the number one cause of death and disability in Americans under 35, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Every year, 1.4 million people suffer from a traumatic brain injury in the US. Of those, 50,000 die and 235,000 require hospital admission.
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