Using simultaneous scanpath visualization to investigate the relationship between accuracy and eye movement during...

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Informatics
• Cardiology

Background:

• Interpreting 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) requires complex visual analysis.
• Understanding clinician visual behavior during ECG interpretation is crucial for improving diagnostic accuracy.
• Current methods for analyzing eye-tracking data in this context are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore novel methods for visualizing and analyzing eye-tracking data during ECG interpretation.
• To elucidate the visual strategies employed by clinicians when interpreting ECGs.
• To determine the relationship between visual behavior and ECG interpretation accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Utilized novel visualization and analysis techniques for eye-tracking data, including scanpath length, Levenshtein distance, and visual transition frequency.
• Simultaneously visualized scanpaths from multiple participants to compare visual search strategies.
• Correlated eye-movement behaviors with the accuracy of ECG interpretations.

Main Results:

• Clinicians exhibit highly variable visual search strategies when interpreting ECGs.
• Greater scanpath variability was observed in clinicians who incorrectly interpreted ECGs compared to those who interpreted them correctly.
• Eye-movement behaviors reflect differences in diagnostic accuracy among practitioners.

Conclusions:

• Visual search strategies during ECG interpretation are not random but vary significantly across clinicians.
• Differences in training, clinical role, and expertise likely contribute to the observed variations in visual behavior and interpretation accuracy.
• Eye-tracking analysis offers valuable insights into the cognitive processes underlying clinical decision-making in cardiology.