RightEye Builds Database of One Billion Eye Tracking Data Points
RightEye LLC announced that it has built a database of more than one billion eye-tracking data points from over 100,000 patient tests conducted using the RightEye system. On track to compile more than two billion data points by year end, major research and health institutions are using the company’s data to examine the eye-brain connection, according to a company news release.
The anonymized data is providing researchers with a new and deeper understanding of early indicators for neurological issues, which are anticipated to help in the development of new treatment options and interventions. Institutions that have used RightEye’s database include the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense, Richmond Veteran Affairs Medical Center, University of Florida, Emory University, Duke University and many others.
Decades of research and hundreds of published articles have long validated the correlation between eye-movement behavior and vision and brain health wellness. RightEye finally makes this data easy to collect and analyze. To build this comprehensive eye-tracking dataset, RightEye’s EyeQ tests incorporate more than 650 unique metrics that capture extremely precise information on patients’ eye movements including eye alignment and teaming, object tracking, depth perception and dynamic visual acuity.
These metrics provide an unprecedented level of granularity in identifying vision-related impairment and opportunities to strengthen performance-related aspects of vision. As the system collects more data, machine learning algorithms provide insightful findings for both well-known and underrepresented conditions not previously associated with vision, further demonstrating that “the eyes are a window into our health,” according to RightEye.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Defense are now using RightEye for a multi-location mild traumatic brain injury research project. In addition, Richmond Veteran Affairs Medical Center is utilizing RightEye to identify distinct eye-movement patterns that may signal earlier detection of serious neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease.
“We have compelling data that eye tracking can be used to reliably detect neurological dysfunction across multiple domains. The output from the RightEye system represents an evolutionary leap in eye tracking research. Large studies, epidemiological research and other protocols that were once thought to be incredibly burdensome and logistically impossible have suddenly become easy to conduct using RightEye,” George Gitchel, PhD, Director of Clinical Research at the Southeast Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Center (PADRECC), at the Richmond Veterans Affairs Medical Center, said in the news release.
The dataset is also providing insights into athletic performance that may be utilized in training athletes and even scouting, attracting Duke University for research in this area.
“We are using RightEye in our research at Duke University to study visual expertise in high-level athletes. By combining RightEye’s quantitative metrics with game statistics from professional athletes, our research team at Duke University is able to gain a better sense of the visual capabilities that underlie athletic expertise,” said Greg Appelbaum, PhD, Associate Professor for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine.
“Our ability to help science and medicine understand how the anatomy of the eye is linked to the brain opens up an entirely new world for providing better treatments to patients suffering from a host of health issues,” said Dr. Melissa Hunfalvay, RightEye’s Chief Science Officer. “We are just beginning to touch the surface of this new frontier. As our system continues to get smarter with more data, we will continue to contribute more valuable insights on what the eyes indicate about our overall health.”