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The feasibility of Gazefinder under 12 months of age infants
Shuntaro Fukushima1,2, Tomoo Takahashi3,4, Kazuki Tsukamoto4
1Division of Pediatrics, Ohchi Municipal Hospital, 3848-2, Nakano Ohnan-cho, Ohchi, Shimane, 696-0102, Japan. m10088sf@jichi.ac.jp.
Insights
Eye-tracking technology, like Gazefinder, can assess gaze patterns in infants as young as 4 months. This technology shows typical development trends in infants, including a preference for eyes over mouths and developing joint attention skills.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Ophthalmology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Eye-tracking is an emerging tool for assessing gaze patterns in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
- Limited research exists on the applicability of eye-tracking devices, such as Gazefinder, for infants under 12 months of age.
- Understanding typical infant gaze development is crucial for early identification of developmental differences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility of using the Gazefinder eye-tracking device to measure gaze data in infants aged 4 to 11 months.
- To investigate gaze patterns, including fixation time and preferences, in a cohort of typically developing infants.
- To explore the association between age and gaze behavior, and its relation to joint attention skills.
Main Methods:
- A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted with 93 infants aged 4-11 months during routine health checkups.
- Infants without suspected developmental problems were included.
- Gazefinder eye-tracking device was used to record gaze data, analyzing fixation time percentages and visual preferences.
Main Results:
- The mean fixation time percentage was 81.0%, with no significant differences across age groups.
- Infants demonstrated a consistent preference for looking at eyes over mouths.
- A positive association was observed between infant age and human gaze, while geometric gaze showed a negative association, indicating developing joint attention skills.
Conclusions:
- Gazefinder is applicable for infants as young as 4 months of age.
- The study confirmed typical gaze patterns in infants, including a preference for eyes and developing joint attention skills.
- Eye-tracking data from Gazefinder align with previous findings for typically developing infants, supporting its use in developmental assessments.
Abstract:
Eye-tracking to evaluate gaze patterns has developed as an assessment tool for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Gazefinder is one of Eye-tracking devices and few studies have investigated whether it can measure the gaze data of infants under 12 months of age. We conducted a prospective cross-sectional study from April 2019 to March 2020 in a periodic health checkup in Ohchi County, Shimane, Japan. Participants included infants between 4 and 11 months of age who were not suspected the presence of developmental problems. Ninety-three participants' datapoints were analyzed. The mean age was 6.5 months and mean developmental quotient was 88%. The mean fixation time percentage of all sequences was 81.0% (standard deviation; 4.4), and there was no significant difference in each age group. Infants in all groups showed a significantly higher predilection for eyes than for mouths. There was a positive association of age with human gaze and a negative association with geometric gaze. Moreover, we confirmed that joint attention skills were enhanced in accordance with their growth process. The eye-tracking data were almost corresponding to previous studies' data of infant with typical development and Gazefinder could be applied to infants starting at 4 months of age.
