Evaluating the Severity of Visuospatial Neglect after Stroke - A Study Protocol

Background Patients suffering from unilateral spatial neglect (USN) commonly show visual-perceptual eye mobility and explorative deficits to stimuli contralateral to the side of the brain lesion. Pen and paper tests are standardized neuropsychological assessments to diagnose USN. In physical therapy the Catherine Bergego Scale (CBS) is a validated test to assess motor abilities and mobility of patients with USN. Pen and paper tests measure explorative behavior on one sheet of paper, the evaluation with the CBS graduates the observation of tasks. A detailed evaluation of explorative abilities in real life situations, regarding object detection and eye movements in space, is therefore not measurable. Objective This study investigates the development of a measurement scale using Tobii Eye Tracking " Pro Glasses 2" to guarantee no, low, average and high symptom expression in patients with USN using the CBS. Method Study protocol for an explorative crosssectional study, with a term of 6 month up to one year. Explorative abilities of stroke survivors are tested twice, within a 7-day period, using Tobii "PRO Glasses 2" and the CBS 2-4 weeks after stroke. Outcome parameters (1) explorative abilities (a) gaze symmetry, (b) saccades, (c) gaze fixation/object detection answering auditory stimuli, (2) CBS. The research process is divided in two phases. Phase I: Feasibility and development of the measurement scale. Phase II: Validation of the measurement scale. Results The investigation of stimulus-induced orientation reactions with the presented measurement scale is a useful diagnostic method to obtain relevant everyday information on the ability to act of patients with neglect. Conclusions The new technology used enables metric results capture, ensuring detailed documentation and promoting the use of digital media for diagnostic purposes. It enables the development of a predictive model of the active exploration radius for exploration deficits.