Eye Movements in Patients with Glaucoma When Viewing Images of Everyday Scenes

Citation

Smith ND, Crabb DP, Glen FC, Burton R & Garway-Heath D (2012) Eye Movements in Patients with Glaucoma When Viewing Images of Everyday Scenes. Seeing and Perceiving, 25 (5), pp. 471-492. https://doi.org/10.1163/187847612x634454

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.

Keywords
Glaucoma; visual fields; eye-movements

Journal
Seeing and Perceiving: Volume 25, Issue 5