Differentiating Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Parkinson's Disease With Head-Mounted Displays

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Ophthalmology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) presents early diagnostic challenges, often mimicking Parkinson's Disease (PD).
• Accurate differentiation is crucial for timely and appropriate patient management.
• Current diagnostic methods can be invasive or lack standardization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of eye-tracking technology within Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) for distinguishing PSP from PD.
• To develop a standardized, accessible diagnostic tool for early-stage neurodegenerative diseases.

Main Methods:

• Saccadic eye movements were recorded using HMDs in patients with PSP, PD, and healthy controls (HCs).
• High-resolution MRI with atlas-based volumetric analysis assessed brain structures.
• A novel diagnostic index was calculated based on vertical and horizontal saccade parameters.

Main Results:

• PSP patients exhibited distinct abnormalities in vertical saccade velocity and gain.
• The derived diagnostic index achieved high sensitivity (77%) and specificity (93%) in differentiating PSP from PD.
• Significant correlations were found between oculomotor measures and midbrain volume in PSP patients.

Conclusions:

• HMD-based eye-tracking offers a standardized and user-friendly method for differentiating PSP from PD and HCs.
• This technology can significantly aid in the early and accurate diagnosis of PSP.
• Oculomotor abnormalities correlate with specific neuroanatomical changes in PSP.