Overview
Eye-tracking has enabled assistive technology solutions and helped in the treatment of vision impairments. From assessing prevalent neurodegenerative diseases to contributing to clinical staff well-being, learn more about four ways eye-tracking technology can be leveraged for better, safer healthcare.
Advancements in medical technologies — particularly accelerated through 2020 — have revolutionized healthcare and pushed the boundaries of what health care professionals, caregivers and even patients themselves can achieve in terms of health assessment and treatment.
Eye-tracking technology company Tobii, a CES® 2021 exhibitor, highlights that healthcare also extends beyond treatment, however. Tech solutions in the industry should also promote workflow efficiency, keep operations secure, and contribute to staff wellbeing.
Explore four Tobii eye-tracking solutions in digital health that empower next-generation care.
Mental Health Assessment for Cancer Patients
Those battling cancer often must also battle mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression during and after their treatment. Artificial intelligence algorithms paired with Tobii Pro2 eyeglasses study and analyze patient eye movements while they examine art pieces. Metrics such as gaze and pupil position helped determine if the patient would be more likely to report mental health concerns on screening questionnaires. This understanding could lead to healthcare teams more reliably flagging at-risk patients without relying on perhaps inaccurate self-reporting.
Advanced Bedside Terminals and Better Communication
Patients with limited physical abilities now have the independence to control their own devices with gaze control, alleviating the need for staff members to help out, and speech generation powered by gaze allow clinical staff to keep their hands free while interacting efficiently with patients.
In one use case with PRC-Saltillo, the Tobii platform allows patients to fully control the PRC-Saltillo Look device without any hand movements. Almost instantaneous gaze recovery empowers individuals to have fast and seamless conversations.
Safer Mobile Nursing Stations
Already an effective tool for patient care, mobile nursing station carts can have increased safety and security through eye-tracking solutions.
Automatic screen blurring based on gaze-control and vision-based identification can protect information from unauthorized viewing, and can enable automatic logout for unauthorized users. Hands free, touchless interaction for nursing stations reduces contamination for shared devices between patients.
Minimally Invasive Surgical Robot Systems
Surgical robotic systems enable surgical operations that are less invasive, allowing for faster patient recovery and lower post-op infection rates. Gaze-control operations allow surgeons to pan, scroll and zoom, as well as select objects and even move the surgical camera directly on the screen. This allows the surgeon’s hands to remain on vital controls on the patient.
Eye-tracking that detects drowsiness can automatically deactivate robots or processes when the surgeon’s attention is no longer focused. The system can also improve remote collaboration by showing exactly what the surgeon is focused on in the operating theater.
Eye-tracking for physicians can also automatically reduce x-ray beams to only where the physician is focused, as shown in Tobii use case with health company ControlRad, decreasing any radiation-related health risks for patients and physicians alike.
Enabling efficiency, improving safety and security, and offering more comfortable care for patients, Tobii showcases how high-precision eye-tracking solutions offer new analytical and operational capabilities that are driving the future of healthcare.
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