Novel prospects for early diagnosis of cognitive impairment using Eye-tracking technology

Objective. Is to develop a method for comprehensive assessment of fixation eye movements in patients with cognitive impairment. Material and methods. The study uses the Pupil Invisible eye-tracker. Using the PsychoPy software, a sequence of visual stimuli with audio and text accompaniment was created. Two consecutive tasks were set for the subjects: passive examination and memorization of images and search for a specific element on the presented image. To assess the experiment, we reviewed the entire testing record with all events occurring during the test. Results. It was found that the standard method of evaluating test results by viewing and analyzing video recordings was unacceptably time-consuming for the researcher. The large volume of obtained results and the lack of standard calculation methods complicated the mathematical processing, so additional software using Wolfram and Python was developed. A unique feature of the developed technique is the division of the constructed heat map based on the fixation movements of the eyes into a certain number of zones, which is achieved by calculating the area of a particular sector of the image related to the total area of the stimulus when performing the task. The experimental verification of the model revealed a «disorderly» direction of gaze without fixing the specified image, an increase in the size of the «heat» spot in a patient diagnosed with primary amnesic aphasia, which differed from those indicators of healthy individuals. Conclusion. As part of the study, a method was developed for assessing integrative indicators of eyeball movements, which may reflect the state of cognitive functions. In the second stage of the study, the sample of patients is planned to increase to identify characteristic patterns of changes in eye movements when performing cognitive tasks, both in healthy individuals and in patients with cognitive impairment caused by various nervous system diseases.