Exploring eye movement analysis as a measure of selective visual attention in brain injured individuals.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To investigate the utility of using a new method of assessment for deficits in selective visual attention (SVA). METHODS AND PROCEDURES: An independent groups design compared six participants with brain injuries with six participants from a non-brain injured control group. The Sensomotoric Instruments Eye Movement system with remote eye-tracking device (eye camera) and two sets of eight stimuli were employed to determine if the camera would be a sensitive discriminator of SVA in these groups. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: The attention profile displayed by the brain injured group showed that they were slower, made more errors, were less accurate and more indecisive than the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The utility of eye movement analysis as an assessment method was established, with implications for rehabilitation requiring further development.