Infrared Eye Tracking: Unlocking Communication Pathways for Coma Patients

Title

Infrared Eye Tracking: Unlocking Communication Pathways for Coma Patients

Creator

Pranith Bhaskar, P.; Sinha, Somnath; Dutta, Binayak

Description

Eye tracking technologies have emerged as a groundbreaking technology in assessing and facilitating communication in patients with disorders of consciousness, including patients in a coma. Traditional methods of diagnosis rely on behaviour responses, which are non-existent or very minimal, thereby resulting in misdiagnosis or delayed intervention. Eye tracking provides an objective, non-intrusive means to measure ocular movement, visual interest, and response patterns, which may enable clinicians to make inferences regarding cognitive processing and residual consciousness. Furthermore, these devices provide a window of opportunity for the creation of minimum communication, enabling patients to communicate needs or preferences utilizing gaze-supported interfaces. This paper discusses current eye tracking systems, their application in the clinical field, and the prospect of applying them in the integration of these devices into conventional diagnostic and therapeutic routines. The findings stress that eye tracking not only enhances diagnostic accuracy but offers a platform for patient-centred communication, which eventually contributes to improved clinical outcomes and quality of life. Of the methods discussed (EOG, VOG, and infrared), infrared eye-tracking system had the best overall balance of spatial precision, responsiveness, and patient comfort and thus functioned best for diagnostic detection and communication based on gaze in this population. 2026 IEEE.

Source

Proceedings of the 2026 6th International Conference on Image Processing and Capsule Networks, ICIPCN 2026;pp.289-295

Date

01-01-2026

Publisher

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.

Subject

coma patients; communication interfaces; disorders of consciousness; electrooculography; eye tracking; infrared tracking; video-oculography

Coverage

Pranith Bhaskar P., Christ University, Department of Computer Science, Bangalore, India; Sinha S., Christ University, Department of Computer Science, Bangalore, India; Dutta B., Christ University, Department of Computer Science, Bangalore, India

Rights

Restricted Access; Hardcopy may be available in the library

Relation

ISBN: 979-833159981-2;

Format

online

Language

English

Type

Conference paper

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.1109/ICIPCN67432.2026.11438401

https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105036484015?origin=resultslist