Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Eye and Vision, Marianne Bernadotte Centre, Karolinska Institute, St Erik Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail:
J Rehabil Med. 2021 Jul 6;53(7):jrm00213. doi: 10.2340/16501977-2847.
To evaluate the feasibility of using a wearable eye-tracker when assessing patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness using the Coma Recovery Scale Revised (CRS-R), focusing on technical challenges.
A methodological investigation with descriptive and analytical elements.
Four patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness were recruited from the rehabilitation clinic of a regional rehabilitation unit.
A selection of subtests in the CRS-R were performed while recording eye movements with a wearable eye-tracker.
No major adverse reactions were observed, suggesting likely patient acceptability. Calibration was not always possible. However, distinct eye movements were discernible from the recorded data even without calibration, and analysis of these produced results with the potential to support clinical assessment.
Eye tracking was feasible during clinical assessment for this patient group. Recording eye movement responses in these easily fatigued patients has the potential to add sensitivity for detection of conscious responses and to complement clinical examination. Further study is merited. Current hardware and software limitations can be overcome with manual data processing and analysis; however, significant developments in automating data processing will be required for broader clinical application.
评估在使用修订昏迷恢复量表（CRS-R）评估持续性意识障碍患者时使用可穿戴眼动追踪器的可行性，重点关注技术挑战。
具有描述性和分析性元素的方法学研究。
从区域康复单位的康复诊所招募了 4 名持续性意识障碍患者。
在使用可穿戴眼动追踪器记录眼动的同时，进行 CRS-R 的部分测试。
未观察到重大不良反应，表明患者可能接受度较高。校准并非总是可行。然而，即使没有校准，也可以从记录的数据中识别出明显的眼动，对这些眼动的分析有可能支持临床评估。
对于该患者群体，眼动追踪在临床评估中是可行的。在这些容易疲劳的患者中记录眼动反应有可能提高对意识反应的检测敏感性，并补充临床检查。值得进一步研究。目前的硬件和软件限制可以通过手动数据处理和分析来克服；然而，为了更广泛的临床应用，需要在数据处理自动化方面取得重大进展。
