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Exploring biomarkers in medical research
Medical research

Exploring biomarkers in medical research

There is a strong connection between deficits in eye movements and various underlying brain disorders and injuries. Medical researchers use eye tracking to explore biomarkers for cognitive impairment, enabling new tools for diagnosis, rehabilitation, and treatment.

Eye tracking transforms medical research

Uncover the subtle cognitive and emotional responses that traditional methods miss — streamline trials, enhance patient understanding, and accelerate insights in clinical research.

  • 71% 

    of clinical assessments rely on verbal or written responses, which may not reflect real-time cognitive or perceptual processes.

  • 64%

    of neurological studies face challenges
    in detecting subtle cognitive impairments.

  • 59%

    of surgical training programs lack tools to measure visual expertise and decision-making.

What you can measure with eye tracking

Eye tracking solutions with a dedicated application, like our software Tobii Pro Lab, can further process the data to draw valuable conclusions on cognitive, behavioral, and oculomotor deficits, including:

Attention allocation

Attention allocation

Measure attentional processes using fixation duration and location.

Executive functions

Executive functions

Study the brain's ability to execute or suppress reflexive eye movements with saccade and anti-saccade tests.

Oculomotor system

Oculomotor system

Measure a person’s ability to fixate on a moving object using smooth-pursuit tasks.

Emotional valence and arousal

Emotional valence and arousal

Assess emotional responses and cognitive workload based on pupillary responses.

Reading ability

Reading ability

Capture dyslexia or age-related changes in reading behavior during a reading task.

Visual perception

Visual perception

Examine visual search and scene exploration efficiency in a free-viewing task.

Research setups for clinical studies

Person looking at Tobii Pro Spectrum

Screen-based for the lab

For lab environments, our screen-based eye trackers, Tobii Pro Spectrum and Tobii Pro Fusion, produce visual stimuli on a screen and work together with Tobii Pro Lab to deliver insights on study participant reactions.

Tobii Pro Fusion being used in a lab environment

Screen-based for the field

You can connect the plug-and-play Tobii Pro Fusion eye tracker to any screen at a hospital, clinic, or research center to collect data in the field in a nonintrusive way. Works together with Tobii Pro Lab to deliver insights on behavior.

Baby looking at puppets using Spectrum

Standalone for the lab

If your study requires that patients observe or interact with physical objects or another person, you can use Tobii Pro Spectrum in standalone mode. Works together with
Tobii Pro Lab to deliver insights on behavior.

Clinical research

Wearable for the real world

Designed for on-the-go data capture, our Tobii Pro Glasses 3 wearable eye tracker allows patients to interact and move around freely, and enables you to design studies that closely reflect real-world scenarios — for the lab and the field.

Fields of research

Eye tracking can measure subtle eye movements that are linked to cognitive impairment and has become instrumental in clinical research, in areas such as:

  • Neurodegenerative disorders

    Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s.

  • Neuropsychiatric disorders

    Depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and eating-disorders.

  • Neurological conditions

    Concussion, traumatic brain injury, and stroke.

  • Ophthalmology

    Visual field, lazy eye, and strabismus.

Our healthcare solutions

Deepen your understanding of clinical studies

Scientific publications

Scientific publications

Did you know that over 15,000 scientific publications feature
Tobii eye tracking technology?

Discover the latest trends in eye tracking for clinical and medical
research by exploring our scientific publication library.

Enabling success

Tobii offers tailored support to address research needs throughout your journey with Tobii’s eye tracking.

Person in front of the computer with academic icons visible

Tobii Funding support services

Tobii Funding support services help you improve your grant proposals for research that includes eye tracking in its methodology

Tobii Connect

Tobii Connect

Tobii Connect delivers product documentation, how-to guides, and answers to FAQs as well as access to software updates. Our customer care services help with any technical issues concerning Tobii products.

Tobii Academy

Tobii Academy

Tobii Academy our online learning platform, helping you ensure study success at every step of the way from study design to interpreting your eye tracking data.