How can eye tracking revolutionize glaucoma detection

Glaucoma: The silent thief of sight and its societal impacts

Glaucoma is an eye condition that slowly damages the optic nerve. This nerve connects the eye to the brain. As an immediate result, it can create blind spots in your vision.

About 10-13% of people in Europe have glaucoma (Rossetti et al., 2015). The cost for each patient ranges from €11,000 to €19,000 per year. This cost depends on how advanced the disease is (Bo Poulsen et al., 2005; Traverso et al., 2005).

Glaucoma is often called the "silent thief of sight". It is painless and usually diagnosed by eye doctors after vision loss has already occurred. Hence, early detection during an eye health care routine is important. It helps avoid permanent damage, which can significantly harm a patients' quality of life.

Pupil Labs and Reyedar are now collaborating to integrate wearable eye tracking and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, aiming to improve early glaucoma detection methods.

Limitations and challenges of traditional Glaucoma detection

Eye doctors at specialised clinics typically diagnose glaucoma once they suspect the condition. The diagnostic process may involve tonometry, a technique measuring pressure in the eye. As well as retinography, to capture an image of the retina, which is the interior surface of the eye.

Subsequently, clinicians perform functional testing to identify the visual field defects and potentially visual field loss. Functional testing, also known as campimetry or perimetry, requires the patient to participate actively. The patient is reporting their visual perception and a qualified clinician then interprets the results for diagnosis. This test measures which parts of the field of vision are clear and which might have blind spots or reduced visibility.

Despite being the current gold standard for glaucoma detection, this process is time-consuming and very tedious for patients. The requirement of a specialised clinician to perform and interpret functional testing, limits the ability for early detection of glaucoma significantly. We aim to simplify the functional testing standard. This will hopefully play an important role in detecting glaucoma early and address slow vision loss.

There is a strong need for simplified functional tests. Simplified, preventative testing would allow practitioners without specialised skills to perform the test and give a qualified first diagnosis. The healthcare provider will refer the patient to a specialised clinician based on the testing results.

Wearable eye tracking: Benefits in early Glaucoma detection?

Eye tracking is a method often used in vision sciences e.g. visual perception neuroscience. It helps to measure how people look at any given visual stimuli. However, it has traditionally been challenging to utilise, requiring specialist knowledge and/or operator training.

Neon has made eye tracking easier to use, more reliable and robust. This change allows everyday users to access a tool that was once only for specialists. Now, with Neon integration into Reyedar’s diagnostic tools, it allows a quick and objective evaluation of eye movement characteristics.

Figure 1: Neon eye tracking glasses with exchangeable prescription lenses. Custom frame design for Reyedar.

In a three-minute testing session, the eye tracker collects hundreds of thousands of data points. It does this by showing standardised stimuli to the patient. Our researchers design the stimuli to provoke specific eye movement responses and examine different areas of the visual field.

AI-based mathematical methods are used to create a biomarker from the collected images of the eye. This helps doctors gain important insights for detecting Glaucoma. Reyedar's testing does not need calibration, which makes it a quick to use screening method. Especially, when specialised health care providers are not available.

Transforming eye care and patient experiences

We are pleased to see that eye tracking is now easy to use and robust. It can help improve the lives of many people with glaucoma by allowing early screening and detection. 

For future developments in the field, we encourage you to follow Reyedar's updates on their website and LinkedIn.

References

Rossetti, L., et al. (2015) Blindness and Glaucoma: A Multicenter Data Review from 7 Academic Eye Clinics. PLoS ONE 10(8): e0136632. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0136632

Poulsen, P. B., Buchholz, P., Walt, J. G., Christensen, T. L., & Thygesen, J. (2005). Cost analysis of glaucoma-related-blindness in Europe. International Congress Series, 1282, 262–266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ics.2005.05.091

Traverso, C. E., et al. (2005). Direct costs of glaucoma and severity of the disease: A multinational long term study of resource utilisation in Europe. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 89(10), 1245–1249. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjo.2005.067355