Article

OBJECTIVES: Objective measures to diagnose and to monitor improvement of symptoms
following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are lacking. Computerized eye
tracking has been advocated as a rapid, user friendly, and field-ready technique
to meet this need. DESIGN: Eye-tracking data collected via a head-mounted,
video-based binocular eye tracker was used to examine saccades, fixations, and
smooth pursuit movement in military Service Members with postconcussive syndrome
(PCS) and asymptomatic control subjects in an effort to determine if eye movement
differences could be found and quantified. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty Military Service
Members with PCS and 26 asymptomatic controls. OUTCOME MEASURES: The diagnosis of
mTBI was confirmed by the study physiatrist's history, physical examination, and
a review of any medical records. Various features of saccades, fixation and
smooth pursuit eye movements were analyzed. RESULTS: Subjects with symptomatic
mTBI had statistically larger position errors, smaller saccadic amplitudes,
smaller predicted peak velocities, smaller peak accelerations, and longer
durations. Subjects with symptomatic mTBI were also less likely to follow a
target movement (less primary saccades). In general, symptomatic mTBI tracked the
stepwise moving targets less accurately, revealing possible brain dysfunction.
CONCLUSIONS: A reliable, standardized protocol that appears to differentiate mTBI
from normals was developed for use in future research. This investigation
represents a step toward objective identification of those with PCS. Future
studies focused on increasing the specificity of eye movement differences in
those with PCS are needed.

Langue : ANGLAIS