<p>On-field assessment of concussion: clinical utility of the King-Devick test</p>

Abstract

Sport-related concussion (SRC) is an important public health concern with up to 3.8 million SRCs occurring each year. As the incidence and rate of SRC increases, reliable and valid tools for diagnosis and management are needed. The King-Devick (K-D) test assesses a patient’s visual function based on reading a series of numbers as well as counting both time to completion and errors. Its rapid administration time and simplicity make the K-D test a potentially useful SRC diagnostic tool, though limitations exist in baseline testing and what constitutes an abnormal score. Additionally, the K-D tests should never be used in isolation to diagnose a concussion, but rather as one test in conjunction with additional clinical measures, as part of an individualized approach to each patient. The current review examines the clinical utility of the K-D test.

Classification of short and long term mild traumatic brain injury using computerized eye tracking

“…Understandably, there is interest in developing biomarkers or automated objective assessments for assisting with diagnosis and tracking recovery 5 , 6 . While questionnaires 7 and blood biomarkers 8 show promise for TBI detection and tracking, biomarkers are not commercially available, and questionnaires are subjective and can lack sensitivity especially for milder presentations 8 , 9 . For example, the eye tracking-based King-Devick test has high sensitivity (86–98%) and specificity (90–96%) for moderate and severe TBIs 10 , 11 , but is much poorer at identifying the more common mild TBI (mTBI) 9 .…”