Bedside Assessment of Eye Movements in the Cognitively Impaired V1.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Comparison of Bedside Assessment of Eye Movements using Facial and Non-facial Stimuli in the Cognitively Impaired
IRAS ID
211666
Contact name
Martin Rossor
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London Hospital Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 2 days
Research summary
Examination of eye movement is particularly important in assessments of patients with cognitive impairment, as there are number of neurodegenerative conditions – such as progressive supranuclear palsy – that are defined by characteristic abnormalities in the movement of the eyes.
However, the eye movements can be difficult to interpret in patients with cognitive impairment, and the examiner may not be able to determine whether the observed eye movement abnormalities reflect the underlying cause of the impaired cognition, or are secondary to poor cooperation and concentration secondary to the cognitive impairment.
While it is well established that a human face is a stronger stimulation for gaze fixation than other objects such as a hat pin or a finger (standard items the patient is asked to pursue with their eyes during the physical examination), the utility of asking cognitively impaired patients to pursue a face to assess the eye movements is yet to be assessed.
We plan to record eye movement assessments using 5 different stimuli in 10 patients and ask the neurologists to rate the most useful stimulus.
REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/EE/0024
Date of REC Opinion
28 Feb 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion