Woman looking at CTA scans
Clinical research

Exploring biomarkers in clinical research

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

Types of research eye trackers

Eye trackers typically come in the form of a screen-based (embedded or externally mounted) solution, as a wearable pair of glasses, or embedded in a VR headset.

Tobii Pro Spectrum Emotion recognition

What you can measure with eye tracking

Whatever the physical form, eye tracking can deliver the information needed to:

  • Measure or guide attentional processes using fixation duration and location.

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

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

  • Assess emotional responses and cognitive workload based on pupillary responses.

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.

  • As well as dyslexia, language disabilities, and drug use.

Research setups for clinical studies

Tobii Pro Spectrum and GSR Shimmer with stimulus

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.

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Scientific publications

Did you know that over 12,000 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.

Medical surgeon using eye tracking glasses for training

Related solutions

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.