Increased Neck Visual Fixation in Children With Tracheostomies: An Eye-Tracking Study

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Pediatric Medicine
• Human Factors Engineering

Background:

• Tracheostomies are medical devices that can alter a child's appearance.
• The social and visual impact of tracheostomies on perception is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the attentional distraction caused by tracheostomies using eye-tracking.
• To assess how tracheostomies influence visual attention and facial recall in observers.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional observational study involving 160 participants aged 5 and older.
• Eye-tracking technology recorded participants' gaze patterns while viewing images of children with and without tracheostomies.
• Facial recall accuracy was compared between groups observing children with and without tracheostomies.

Main Results:

• Participants spent significantly more time viewing the neck area of children with tracheostomies compared to those without.
• Gaze fixations on the neck were 3.7 times more frequent and lasted eight times longer for tracheostomy images.
• Facial recall was significantly poorer for children with tracheostomies.

Conclusions:

• Tracheostomies redirect viewer attention from the face to the neck, increasing viewing duration of the neck area.
• Impaired facial recall suggests a cognitive impact of visual distraction from tracheostomies.
• These findings offer insights into potential social interaction challenges faced by children with tracheostomies.