A new eye-tracking technology using musicvideos points to a fast new way to assess brain injuries, according to a new study in the Journal of Neurosurgerypublished online Tuesday. The results could be especially useful in screening combat veterans, the study's authors said, because the technology is particularly well-suited for identifying concussions and blast injuries. Using a tool designed at NYU Langone Medical Center, researchers there enlisted 169 veterans, 157 of whom were healthy. The remaining 12 had known weaknesses in the nerves that move the eyes up and down and side to side, or brain swelling adjacent to those nerves. All the participants were asked to watch either a music video or TV for 3 and 1/2 minutes. In the healthy subjects the ratio of horizontal to vertical eye movements was close to one-to-one. In the dozen with known weakness or swelling in the nerves that control eye movement, the ratio was significantly skewed depending on the affected nerve. In each case, scientists were able to use the quantitative measurement to pinpoint the location of the injury or weakness. "One of the reasons that clinical trials for treatment of brain injury have failed in the past is that brain injury … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise NEW YORK, NY -- Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have developed new technology that can assess the location and impact of a brain injury merely by tracking the eye movements of patients as they watch music videos for less than four minutes, according to a study published Friday on-line in the Journal of Neurosurgery. The study suggests that the use of eye tracking technology may be a potential biological marker for assessing brain function and monitoring recovery for patients with brain injuries. Led by Uzma Samadani, MD, PhD, chief of neurosurgery at New York Harbor Health Care System and co-director of the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center for the Study of Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury at NYU Langone, the study looked at 169 veterans; 157 of whom were neurologically healthy and 12 who either had known weaknesses in the nerves that move the eyes, or brain swelling adjacent to those nerves. These nerves affect how the eye moves up and down and side to side. Using a technology developed at NYU Langone, the investigators had the participants watch a music video or television content for 220 seconds while … Continue reading →