title: Eye movements in patients with glaucoma when viewing images of everyday scenes.
abstract: This 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): 3-11%)). 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): 11-35%)). 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Optometry and Visual Science, City University London, London, EC1V 0HB, UK.
authors.forename: Nicholas D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Crabb
authors.forename: Fiona C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Glen
authors.forename: Robyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Burton
authors.forename: David F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Garway-Heath
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D015348:Vision, Binocular / Q000502:physiology*