Concussions are one of the most common forms of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Unfortunately, current research suggests that mild TBIs cannot always be accurately diagnosed via routine neurological examination. Also, most evaluations, such as ImPACT, are survey-style assessments that are time intensive and subjective. Lack of an objective method to rapidly assess concussions on the field raises concern for second-impact syndrome (SIS), which can lead to permanent brain damage or even fatality.

This multi-part study included a population of 849 high school athletes in from Lubbock, Texas. Student athletes filled out a baseline concussion survey, then assessed their eye tracking performance with the EyeGuide Focus, a 10-second test that involves visually tracking a continuous, figure-8 shape. A vector-based system was used to measure the eye-tracking deviation.

Forty-two athletes were recorded with a baseline eye-tracking score, and a subsequent eye-tracking score that was labelled as a suspected concussion by a physician. Of those forty-two, seventeen had a follow-up eye-tracking test two weeks later. Test scores labelled with suspected concussion had a significantly higher mean raw score than the baseline score. Higher scores indicate greater vector deviation from accurately tracing the figure-8 with the eyes.