Analysis of features of eye gaze useful in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease for people living in rural and remote communities. A comparative study between people with early to mid-stage Parkinson's disease and age-matched healthy volunteers.

Assessment of pupillary light reflex (hippus) using the commercial eye tracker (GP3-HD, Gazepoint Canada);; Assessment of saccades using the commercial eye tracker (GP3-HD, Gazepoint Canada).

Eye movement abnormalities including the pupillary light reflex (PLR) and saccades occur in movement disorders including Parkinson’s disease. The purpose of this study is to identify robust features of eye gaze as demonstrated using a commercial eye tracking device that may be used to identify and assess eye movement abnormalities in Parkinson’s disease patients and those at risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. The ultimate aim of this work is to develop an automated diagnostic tool for the diagnosis and assessment of eye gaze abnormalities for people living in rural and remote communities. Patients will be able to record their eye gaze under specified conditions. The recordings will be analysed and eye gaze and analysis sent to a specialist physician. The aim of this study is to ascertain features of the PLR and saccades that are most useful in identifying differences between Parkinson’s disease patients and healthy age-matched controls using a commercially available eye tracker. The hypothesis is that Parkinson’s disease patients will exhibit significantly different eye gaze features compared with healthy age-matched controls.