Eye Movements in Patients with Glaucoma When Viewing Images of Everyday Scenes

Abstract

This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link AbstractThis study tests the hypothesis that patients with bilateral glaucoma exhibit different eye movements compared to normally-sighted people when viewing computer displayed photographs of everyday scenes. Thirty glaucomatous patients and 30 age-related controls with normal vision viewed images on a computer monitor whilst eye movements were simultaneously recorded using an eye tracking system. The patients demonstrated a significant reduction in the average number of saccades compared to controls (P=0.02; mean reduction of 7% [95% confidence interval [CI]: 3 to 11%]. There was no difference in average saccade amplitude between groups but there was between-person variability in patients. The average elliptical region scanned by the patients by a bivariate contour ellipse area (BCEA) analysis, was more restricted compared to controls (P=0.004; mean reduction of 23% [95% CI: 11 to 35%]). A novel analysis mapping areas of interest in the images indicated a weak association between severity of functional deficit and a tendency to not view regions typically viewed by the controls. In conclusion, some eye movements in some patients with bilateral glaucomatous defects differ from normal-sighted people of a similar age when viewing images of everyday scenes, providing evidence for a potential new window for looking into the functional consequences of the disease.

Eye movements and reading in glaucoma: observations on patients with advanced visual field loss

“…Evidence is presented that differences in eye movements might explain some of the large variability in reading rates exhibited by these patients, and may help provide a plausible mechanism as to why some, but not all, glaucoma patients have difficulties with reading. This study also adds to emerging evidence of eye movements being a useful way of understanding the functional consequence of glaucoma [30][31][32][33].…”

Disrupted Eye Movements in Preperimetric Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

“…20 In addition to protocol differences, discrepancies between these studies could arise from dissimilarities in visual field loss/sensitivity between patients, 21 as well as unpredictable adaptive oculomotor behaviors to compensate for visual field loss. [22][23][24] Compensatory oculomotor behavior, however, may not be the sole mechanism contributing to aberrant eye movements in POAG, as excessive saccades have also been reported when visual targets were displayed into unaffected visual field areas in POAG patients.…”

Impact of Peripheral Field Loss on the Execution of Natural Actions: A Study With Glaucomatous Patients and Normally Sighted People

“…There is also evidence of the impact of peripheral field loss on visual exploration of faces, and of static and dynamic scenes. 6,7 For instance, when presented with dynamic movies of road traffic scenes, people with glaucoma were found to produce more fixations and saccades than were normally sighted people. 7 Other research suggests that VF loss may lead to restrictions in eye movements, with patients producing fewer saccades and exploring different locations of photographs of natural scenes than normally sighted people.…”