The feasibility of automated eye tracking with the Early Childhood Vigilance Test of attention in younger HIV-exposed Ugandan children.

Abstract

Objective Tobii eye tracking was compared to webcam-based observer scoring on an animation viewing measure of attention (ECVT) to evaluate the feasibility of automating measurement and scoring. Outcomes from both scoring approaches were compared to the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL), Color-Object Association Test (COAT), and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function for preschool children (BRIEF-P). Method 44 children 44 to 65 months of age were evaluated with the ECVT, COAT, MSEL, and BRIEF-P. Tobii X2-30 portable infrared cameras were programmed to monitor pupil direction during the ECVT 6-minute animation, and compared to observer-based PROCODER webcam scoring. Results Children watched 78% of the cartoon (Tobii) compared to 67% (webcam scoring), although the two measures were highly correlated (r=0.90,P=0.001). It is possible for two such measures to be highly correlated even if one is consistently higher than the other (Bergemann et al., 2012). Both ECVT Tobii and webcam ECVT measures significantly correlated with COAT immediate recall (r=0.37,P=0.02 versus r=0.38,P=0.01 respectively) and total recall (r=0.33,P=0.06 versus r=0.42,P=0.005) measures. However, neither the Tobii eye tracking nor PROCODER webcam ECVT measures of attention correlated with MSEL composite cognitive performance or BRIEF-P global executive composite. Conclusion ECVT scoring using Tobii eye tracking is feasible with at-risk very young African children and consistent with webcam-based scoring approaches in their correspondence to one another and other neurocognitive performance-based measures. By automating measurement and scoring, eye tracking technologies can improve the efficiency and help better standardize ECVT testing of attention in younger children. This holds promise for other neurodevelopmental tests where eye movements, tracking, and gaze length can provide important behavioral markers of neuropsychological and neurodevelopmental processes associated with such tests.

The feasibility of an automated eye-tracking-modified Fagan test of memory for human faces in younger Ugandan HIV-exposed children

“…As did Boivin et al (2017) with Ugandan HIV-exposed toddlers and Forssman et al (2017) with Malawian infants, who both used Tobii eye tacking instrumentation and a cognitive visual tracking task, the present study has also established the feasibility of eye tracking measures, only this time with infant children in a medical clinic setting. We also established ways in which the Fagan test, modified for the Ugandan context, produces working memory outcomes that significantly correlated with other cognitive and neurodevelopmental assessments in HIV-affected children in an African context.…”

“…The first is a study by our group in which Tobii eye tracking was compared to webcam-based observer scoring on an animation viewing measure of attention (Early Childhood Vigilance Test or ECVT) to evaluate the feasibility of automating Tobii eye tracking measurement and scoring, with the same instrumentation used in the present study (Michael J. Boivin et al, 2017). For HIV-exposed Ugandan children 44 to 65 months from our present study site, Tobii eye tracking measures of gaze length duration for a six minute animation cartoon were compared performance measures from the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL), Color-Object Association Test (COAT), and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function for preschool children (BRIEF-P).…”

Assessing infant cognition in field settings using eye-tracking: a pilot cohort trial in Sierra Leone

“…21 22 The majority of studies examining infant visual orienting by automated eye-tracking come from high-resource laboratories in Western countries, but similar research has recently been expanded to assess visual orienting [23][24][25][26] as well as other aspects of cognition in children in less studied populations in mid-income and low-income countries. [27][28][29] These studies have shown that eyetracking can be performed in low-resource settings, typically at central healthcare facilities, [26][27][28] although the use of a portable system at participants' homes in rural Vanuatu has also been reported. 29 A study conducted in Malawi found no association between eye-tracking measures of visual orienting at 7-9 months and tests of cognitive and motor function at 18 months.…”

Early Childhood Vigilance Test (ECVT) of attention in younger HIV-exposed Ugandan children predicts Tests of Variables of Attention (TOVA) at school age.

“…We have reported how we determined our sample size, all data exclusions (if any), all manipulations, and all measures in the study, and which are described in further detail in a prior study (Boivin, Weiss, et al, 2017) and in the source clinical trial study (Boivin, Nakasujja, et al, 2017). All data, analysis code, and research materials are available upon request to the senior author (MJB) and contingent upon suitable intellectual property agreements with Michigan State University.…”