Perception of children’s faces with unilateral coronal synostosis—an eye-tracking investigation

Abstract

Eye tracking objectively evaluates both the perception of craniofacial abnormalities and the extent of the approximation of normality after surgical correction. We introduce eye tracking as an objective measurement tool for craniofacial abnormalities for the first time.

Visual perception of faces with unilateral and bilateral cleft lip and palate: An Eye‐Tracking Study

“…The eye‐tracking method has been used to evaluate how faces with severe Class III malocclusion, unilateral coronal synostosis and unilateral CLP are perceived visually. However, no data are available for faces with BCLP.…”

“…8 The most direct and objective method for evaluating which facial features are most remarkable or pertinent to the viewers' gaze is to analyse their response to or attentional patterns resulting from a stimulus by analysing their eye movements. 9 The eye-tracking method has been used to evaluate how faces with severe Class III malocclusion, 10 unilateral coronal synostosis 11 and unilateral CLP 12,13 are perceived visually. However, no data are available for faces with BCLP.…”

The Use of Eye Tracking to Discern the Threshold at Which Metopic Orbitofrontal Deformity Attracts Attention

“…To our knowledge, only one other study has used eye tracking to study craniosynostosis (Linz et al, 2016). Linz et al found a greater fixation duration toward the head and forehead in the child with preoperative unicoronal craniosynostosis than the age-matched child in the control group.…”

“…The absolute fixation duration toward the pathologic AOIs increased from 0.78 ± 0.33 seconds to 1.09 ± 0.75 seconds ( P < .001). Fixation duration on the head was similarly smaller to internal facial features when Linz et al studied coronal synostosis perception (Linz et al, 2016).…”

“…Eye tracking provides an objective assessment of perception and attention toward patients with craniofacial differences. Eye tracking has been studied in coronal craniosynostosis (Linz et al, 2016) and cleft lip (Meyer-Marcotty et al, 2010; Meyer-Marcotty et al, 2011; van Schijndel et al, 2015; Dindaroglu et al, 2017; Rayson et al, 2017; Quast et al, 2018; Warne et al, 2018; Morzycki et al, 2019) as an objective method to test attention and perception through gaze patterns (Gibaldi et al, 2017). This objective assessment of attention and perception can provide insight on the social stigma of a craniofacial deformity established in the literature (Ozgur et al, 2006; Marchac et al, 2008; Singh and Moss, 2015) and how the surgery eliminates this stigma.…”