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. 2021 Sep 16;16(9):e0257459.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257459. eCollection 2021.

Quantification of gaze reaction time in infants with Pediatric Perimeter

Sourav Datta  1 , Koteswararao Chilakala  2 , Sandeep Vempati  2 , Tejopratap Oleti  3 , Jaishree Kulkarni  3 , Srinivas Murki  3 , Pramod Gaddam  3 , PremNandhini Satgunam  1
Affiliations

Quantification of gaze reaction time in infants with Pediatric Perimeter

Sourav Datta et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Purpose: We quantified the eye/head (gaze) reaction time in infants to establish a normative database for the Pediatric Perimeter device. Additionally, we tested the hypothesis that gaze reaction time will reduce with age.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Healthy infants between 3 to 10 months of age were recruited. Peripheral visual field stimuli (hemifield and quadrant stimuli) were presented in the Pediatric Perimeter device. Infant's gaze to these stimuli was observed, documented in real time, and video recorded for offline analysis.

Results: A total of 121 infants were tested in three age group bins [3-5 months, n = 44; >5-7 months, n = 30 and >7-10 months, n = 47]. Overall, 3-5 months old had longer reaction time when compared to the older infants particularly for stimuli presented in the quadrants (Kruskal-Wallis, p<0.038). A significantly asymmetric difference (p = 0.025) in reaction time was observed between the upper (median = 820ms, IQR = 659-1093ms) and lower quadrants (median = 601ms, IQR = 540-1052ms) only for the 3-5 months old infants.

Conclusion: This study provides the normative gaze reaction time of healthy infants. With increase in age, there is reduction in reaction time and disappearance of reaction time asymmetry in quadrant stimuli. The longer reaction time for upward gaze could be due to delayed maturation of neural mechanisms and/or decreased visual attention.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have read the journal’s policy and have the following competing interests: SD and PNS have an approved US patent (No.: 10517475 B2) and an India patent application (No.: 4341/ CHE/ 2015) on the Pediatric Perimeter device used in this study. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. Enhancement to this device design is still underway. There are no other patents or marketed products associated with this research to declare.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
(A) Photograph of an infant before sliding into the Pediatric Perimeter device. (B) Graphical User Interface (GUI) and infrared image capture of the infant’s face is seen. The green colored hemi-circle and quadrants in the lower right represent the stimuli for the Gross Visual Field test.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Box plot shows the reaction time measured in milliseconds for the 3 different age groups (x-axis) to the hemifields, upper quadrants and lower quadrants.
The box denotes the interquartile range. Outliers (o) and extreme (*) values are also plotted.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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