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The automatic detection of eye positions, their temporal consistency, and their mapping into a line of sight in the real world (to find where a person is looking at) is reported in the scientific literature as gaze tracking. This has become a very hot topic in the field of computer vision during the last decades, with a surprising and continuously growing number of application fields. A very long journey has been made from the first pioneering works, and this continuous search for more accurate solutions process has been further boosted in the last decade when deep neural networks have revolutionized the whole machine learning area, and gaze tracking as well. In this arena, it is being increasingly useful to find guidance through survey/review articles collecting most relevant works and putting clear pros and cons of existing techniques, also by introducing a precise taxonomy. This kind of manuscripts allows researchers and technicians to choose the better way to move towards their application or scientific goals. In the literature, there exist holistic and specifically technological survey documents (even if not updated), but, unfortunately, there is not an overview discussing how the great advancements in computer vision have impacted gaze tracking. Thus, this work represents an attempt to fill this gap, also introducing a wider point of view that brings to a new taxonomy (extending the consolidated ones) by considering gaze tracking as a more exhaustive task that aims at estimating gaze target from different perspectives: from the eye of the beholder (first-person view), from an external camera framing the beholder’s, from a third-person view looking at the scene where the beholder is placed in, and from an external view independent from the beholder.

In recent years, several prototypes of remote, webcam-based eye-tracking have emerged, exploring their feasibility and potential for web-based experiments. This growing interest is largely driven by the ability to conduct tasks remotely, enabling research on larger and hard-to-reach populations. However, its use has been primarily limited to proof-of-concept studies in basic cognitive science. These studies have generally reported a decrease in precision, compounded by lower camera quality and noisier environments, posing new implementation challenges. Additionally, webcam-based eye-tracking has been applied in human-computer interaction and marketing, where only qualitative results are typically required. Here, we aim to extend its application to cognitive tasks relevant to mental health and telemedicine. We present a novel prototype of a remote, webcam-based eye-tracker with key enhancements over existing systems, including a reliable sampling rate, screen distance detection, head movement tracking, blink detection, and improved calibration without requiring constant mouse interactions. We first evaluated its spatiotemporal resolution and reliability. Next, we tested its functionality in a cognitive experiment using the anti-saccade task, a well-established paradigm in various patient populations. This task assesses inhibitory control by comparing horizontal eye movements toward (pro-saccades) and away from (anti-saccades) a target. The proposed improvements resulted in a robust remote eye-tracking system that performed consistently across different hardware setups and maintained stable calibration over time. We also introduced novel capabilities and provided a discussion on their limitations. Furthermore, our results replicated key findings from high-precision laboratory-based eye-trackers: response times and error rates were higher in anti-saccades than in pro-saccades, and incorrect responses were associated with shorter reaction times. We demonstrate the potential of this prototype for both cognitive research and clinical applications, providing a comprehensive evaluation of its capabilities and limitations. Our findings indicate that remote webcam-based eye-tracking can successfully replicate classical results from the anti-saccade task in an online setting.

The integration of technology in the classroom should be based on low-cost devices and affordable solutions, allowing educators to fully explore their potential benefits. Product design education is undergoing a profound transformation in response to these changes. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the integration of low-cost eye-tracking (ET) technology within a product design process. This research presents a practical case involving a group of design students who incorporated an ET device, as well as an alternative tracking method (AT) that simulates eye movement, to develop a product following a custom design methodology. The impact of both the methodology and the low-cost technology was evaluated through surveys administered to forty-seven students. The evaluation focused primarily on “utility, novelty, and relevance” as key aspects. The results showed consistently high approval ratings for both technologies. However, ET received significantly higher and more favorable evaluations. A detailed analysis of the evaluated elements indicated a strong preference for ET in terms of utility, novelty, and relevance. Furthermore, a correlational analysis revealed that students associated the integration of low-cost technology with usefulness and a positive experience. The findings of this case study highlight that low-cost devices and innovative methodologies are effective tools for enhancing teaching and learning experiences for students, educators, and researchers.

There is an abundance of commercial and open-source eye trackers available for researchers interested in gaze and eye movements. Which aspects should be considered when choosing an eye tracker? The paper describes what distinguishes different types of eye trackers, their suitability for different types of research questions, and highlights questions researchers should ask themselves to make an informed choice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive cognitive decline associated with pathological changes originating in the locus coeruleus (LC), impacting oculomotor functions. Current diagnostic methods such as PET imaging and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers are costly, invasive, and less accessible for routine screening. We propose a novel augmented reality (AR)-based eye-tracking system, the Oculomotor Stimulation and Eye Tracking (OSET) device, designed for non-invasive, early detection and longitudinal monitoring of neurodegenerative disorders through immersive cognitive paradigms including anti-saccade and oddball tasks. The OSET device utilizes four infrared eye cameras with 60 Hz pupil tracking, with blink-induced data loss compensated during preprocessing. Participants performed anti-saccade and visual oddball task involving pseudo-random presentation of emotionally neutral faces (75% standard, 12.5% target, 12.5% novel/randomly selected faces) sourced from the KDEF dataset. Each stimulus was presented for 800 ms with a fixed 2000 ms interstimulus interval, and participants responded to target faces using a handheld controller. A pupil reflex test using luminance transitions was conducted pre- and post-task (Figure 1. A). Extracted features include peak delta pupil diameter (∆PD) in response to target and novel stimuli, standard error of the mean (SEM) for peak ∆PD values, pupil size dynamic range, total blink duration, and mean blink duration (Figure 1. B). Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was used for dimensionality reduction and visualization of the group distributions. The pilot cohort included two patients with AD, two with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 15 healthy controls, recruited at the Brain Health Imaging Institute (BHII) at Weill Cornell Medicine. Clinical diagnoses were established using the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale and tau-PET imaging with Braak staging. Tau-PET was served as the ground truth for validation. While the current sample size is limited, participant recruitment is ongoing to support broader validation. Distinct oculomotor response patterns were observed across groups. The AR eye-tracking system can differentiate among healthy controls, MCI, and AD patient based on oculomotor response patterns (Figure 1. C&D). The immersive, ambulatory, and cost-effective nature of this system allows large-scale longitudinal studies and frequent at-home assessments, improving accessibility and patient compliance.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) can measure brain activity in ms-level temporal resolution. MEG sensors are super sensitive devices for magnetic signals of the brain but are also prone to electromagnetic interferences. The MEG device is located inside the magnetically shielded room (MSR), and any monitoring device used inside the MSR requires special shielding and its location must be carefully selected to suppress electromagnetic interference. Eye-tracker measures eye movements, providing spatial location of the gaze, pupil diameters, and eye blinks. Eye tracking in MEG enables, for example, categorization of the MEG data based on gaze position and interactive stimulus using gaze position. Combining the methods together will require considering the electromagnetic interference for the MEG—that is, additional shielding, positioning of the eye tracker, and subject-specific issues related to make-up and eye-corrective lenses.

Purpose There have been many reports suggesting that glaucoma patients with visual field defects may have decreased silent reading ability compared with individuals without glaucoma. This study used an eye tracking system to assess the ability of glaucoma patients to silently read horizontally scrolling text. Methods Glaucoma patients who met the following criteria were recruited: age of ≤ 70 years, at least one eye with a 10 − 2 threshold on standard automated perimetry, a mean deviation value of n 4.0 dB or less, and corrected decimal visual acuity of 0.7 or better in both eyes. Using heat map images created from data from an eye tracking system operating during presentation of a video in which a sentence scrolled horizontally from right to left, reading time, average gaze position, and average fixation time (AFT) were compared between normal eyes (23 individuals, 46 eyes) and glaucomatous eyes (25 patients, 45 eyes). Four styles of sentences (large slow, large fast, small slow, and small fast) were scrolled in the top or bottom sections of the screen. Results Primary open-angle glaucoma was the most common type of glaucoma in 34 eyes (75.6%), followed by secondary glaucoma in six eyes (13.3%). In comparison with normal eyes, the reading time among right eyes was significantly longer in glaucomatous eyes when reading large fast text that was shown in the bottom area and left glaucomatous eyes showed a leftward shift in gaze position in the top, bottom, or both sections with all four sentence types. There was no significant difference in AFT between glaucomatous and normal eyes across the four sentence styles. In the left eye with inferior visual field loss, text presented at the top consistently showed a correlation with leftward shift of the gaze position across all scenarios. Conclusion Glaucoma patients with central visual field defects in their left eyes may experience greater difficulty reading horizontally scrolling text than individuals with normal eyes. Key message What is known • There have been many reports that glaucoma patients with visual field defects have decreased silent reading ability compared with individuals without glaucoma. What is new • This study used an eye tracking system to objectively evaluate the silent reading abilities of patients with glaucoma (affected eyes) when presented with horizontally scrolling text. • Heat map analysis showed that glaucomatous left eyes tended to follow the text in a more leftward direction compared with normal left eyes. • Glaucoma patients with central visual field defects in their left eyes may experience greater difficulty reading horizontally scrolling text than individuals with normal vision.

The development of high-performance MEMS-based eye trackers, crucial for next-generation medical diagnostics and human–computer interfaces, is often hampered by the mechanical instability and time-consuming recalibration of physical prototypes. To address this bottleneck, we present the development and rigorous validation of a high-fidelity digital twin (DT) designed to accelerate the design–test–refine cycle. We conducted a comparative study of a physical MEMS scanning system and its corresponding digital twin using a USAF 1951 test target under both static and dynamic conditions. Our analysis reveals that the DT accurately replicates the physical system’s behavior, showing a geometric discrepancy of <30 µm and a matching feature shift (1 µm error) caused by tracking dynamics. Crucially, the DT effectively removes mechanical vibration artifacts, enabling the precise analysis of system parameters in a controlled virtual environment. The validated model was then used to develop a pupil detection algorithm that achieved an accuracy of 1.80 arc minutes, a result that surpasses the performance of a widely used commercial system in our comparative tests. This work establishes a validated methodology for using digital twins in the rapid prototyping and optimization of complex optical systems, paving the way for faster development of critical healthcare technologies.

Eye movements measured by high precision eye-tracking technology represent a sensitive, objective, and non-invasive method to probe functional neural pathways. Oculomotor tests (e.g., saccades and smooth pursuit), tests that involve cognitive processing (e.g., antisaccade and predictive saccade), and reaction time tests have increasingly been showing utility in the diagnosis and monitoring of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in research settings. Currently, the adoption of these tests into clinical practice is hampered by a lack of a normative data set. The goal of this study was to construct a normative database to be used as a reference for comparing patients’ results. Oculomotor, cognitive, and reaction time tests were administered to male and female volunteers, aged 18–45, who were free of any neurological, vestibular disorders, or other head injuries. Tests were delivered using either a rotatory chair equipped with video-oculography goggles (VOG) or a portable virtual reality-like VOG goggle device with incorporated infrared eye-tracking technology. Statistical analysis revealed no effects of age on test metrics when participant data were divided into pediatric (i.e.,18–21 years, following FDA criteria) and adult (i.e., 21–45 years) groups. Gender (self-reported) had an effect on auditory reaction time, with males being faster than females. Pooled data were used to construct a normative database using 95% reference intervals (RI) with 90% confidence intervals on the upper and lower limits of the RI. The availability of these RIs readily allows clinicians to identify specific metrics that are deficient, therefore aiding in rapid triage, informing and monitoring treatment and/or rehabilitation protocols, and aiding in the return to duty/activity decision. This database is FDA cleared for use in clinical practice (K192186).

Humans use rapid eye movements (saccades) to inspect stimuli with the foveola, the region of the retina where receptors are most densely packed. It is well established that visual sensitivity is generally attenuated during these movements, a phenomenon known as saccadic suppression. This effect is commonly studied with large, often peripheral, stimuli presented during instructed saccades. However, little is known about how saccades modulate the foveola and how the resulting dynamics unfold during natural visual exploration. Here we measured the foveal dynamics of saccadic suppression in a naturalistic high-acuity task, a task designed after primates’ social grooming, which—like most explorations of fine patterns—primarily elicits minute saccades (microsaccades). Leveraging on recent advances in gaze-contingent display control, we were able to systematically map the perisaccadic time course of sensitivity across the foveola. We show that contrast sensitivity is not uniform across this region and that both the extent and dynamics of saccadic suppression vary within the foveola. Suppression is stronger and faster in the most central portion, where sensitivity is generally higher and selectively rebounds at the onset of a new fixation. These results shed light on the modulations experienced by foveal vision during the saccade-fixation cycle and explain some of the benefits of microsaccades.