Impact of central vision loss on oculomotor skills required for reading: An eye-tracking study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A better understanding of the relationship between eye movements required for reading and central visual field loss may facilitate the design of more effective personalized visual rehabilitation programs to improve access to information and quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of central vision loss due to maculopathy on the oculomotor skills required for reading and tasks of varying complexity, eye-tracking technology was used. METHODS: Case-control study. Participants were 17 cases (61.7 years (SD 8.8), 12 females and 5 males) and 17 controls, matched for age and sex. Three computer-based tests were administered, analyzing eye fixations, saccadic movements, and visual search, measured with a 60 Hz eye-tracking device. RESULTS: Central vision loss due to maculopathy increases the number of fixations and saccadic movements, indicating more instability in and out of the region of interest. Visual search required more fixations (16.2 +- 10.2 vs. 6.7 +- 1.9), more saccades (11.7 +- 6.4 vs. 3.3 +- 1.9), longer latency (701.3 +- 191.4 ms vs. 315.9 +- 56.0 ms), and longer time to find the target (113.1 +- 76.6 s vs. 18.5 +- 10.1 s). All comparisons between the two groups showed a statistically significant difference (P< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results revealed the significant impact of central vision loss due to maculopathy on reading by increasing patterns of eye fixations, saccadic movements, and visual search strategies, as measured by eye-tracking technology. This technology may have high potential to improve the assessment and rehabilitation of people with maculopathy, and this may become key information for designing personalized interventions to improve the quality of life and autonomy of individuals with central vision loss.