Assessing Medical Student Attentional Bias in Unicoronal Craniosynostosis: An Eye-Tracking Study

Area of Science:

• Medical education
• Ophthalmology
• Pediatric surgery

Background:

• Unicoronal craniosynostosis (UCS) is a congenital condition requiring early diagnosis.
• Medical students' ability to accurately assess craniofacial anomalies is crucial for timely intervention.
• Objective assessment of diagnostic skills in medical trainees is essential for identifying educational needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To objectively identify medical students' gaze patterns when assessing children with and without unicoronal craniosynostosis (UCS).
• To pinpoint potential diagnostic and educational gaps in medical students' assessment of UCS.
• To evaluate attentional biases in medical students' evaluation of craniofacial structures.

Main Methods:

• Utilized eye-tracking technology to record medical students' gaze patterns while viewing images of children with/without UCS.
• Quantified cumulative dwell times on specific facial interest areas (forehead, brow, eyes, nose, lower face, mouth, ears).
• Compared dwell times between images of children with UCS and control images.

Main Results:

• Students spent significantly more time on the brow and less on the nose when viewing UCS images.
• Increased dwell time was observed on the forehead contralateral to the fused suture in UCS images.
• Attentional biases were noted, with focus shifting in control images as well, indicating selective attention.

Conclusions:

• Medical students exhibit significant attentional biases when assessing children with UCS.
• Current assessment practices may overlook key asymmetries, indicating potential educational deficits.
• Targeted training in craniofacial assessment is necessary to improve diagnostic accuracy for UCS.