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Eye tracking based detection of mild cognitive impairment: A review
Hasnain Ali Shah, Salman Khalil, Sami Andberg, Anne Maria Koivisto, Roman Bednarik. Information Fusion, 2025-04-17
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a transitional stage between normal age-related cognitive decline and the more severe cognitive loss seen in dementia. MCI presents a higher risk of progressing to Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative conditions despite its early symptoms overlapping with normal cognitive aging. Early identification is crucial for timely intervention, as no cure exists, and current treatments only slow disease progression. Eye tracking is a promising diagnostic solution, offering a non-invasive method to examine cognitive functions related to eye movements. In this article, we comprehensively reviewed how recent research studies have implemented eye-tracking technology to study cognitive disorders, focusing on MCI. We reviewed a broad spectrum of research studies employing eye-tracking methods and provided a cohesive overview of the different methodological approaches. We highlighted key advancements in detecting MCI using commonly analyzed eye movements and innovative eye-tracking techniques. Additionally, we analyzed recent studies that applied statistical, machine learning, and deep learning methods to eye-tracking data for MCI detection, followed by a detailed discussion on their challenges and limitations towards clinical applications. • Comprehensive review of eye-tracking in cognitive disorder research, focusing on MCI/AD. • Survey of gaze-based biomarkers and emerging paradigms in early disease detection. • Analysis of statistical, ML, and deep learning methods for diagnostic classification. • Discussion of clinical challenges in feasibility, generalizability, and deployment.
Key findings
- MCI presents a higher risk of progressing to Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative conditions despite its early symptoms overlapping with normal cognitive aging.
Why it matters
This review describes eye tracking as a promising non-invasive method to examine cognitive functions related to eye movements for detecting mild cognitive impairment. It notes that no cure exists and current treatments only slow disease progression.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 39/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Information Fusion) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Information Fusion: journal h-index 221 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 11 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 11 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Roman Bednarik: h-index 30 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Helsinki: institution h-index 1,201 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 39 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Shah, H. A., Khalil, S., Andberg, S., Koivisto, A. M., & Bednarik, R. (2025). Eye tracking based detection of mild cognitive impairment: A review. Information Fusion. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inffus.2025.103202
Vancouver
Shah HA, Khalil S, Andberg S, Koivisto AM, Bednarik R. Eye tracking based detection of mild cognitive impairment: A review. Information Fusion. 2025. doi:10.1016/j.inffus.2025.103202.
BibTeX
@article{shah2025-1b1a6cf1,
author = {Shah, Hasnain Ali and Khalil, Salman and Andberg, Sami and Koivisto, Anne Maria and Bednarik, Roman},
title = {{Eye tracking based detection of mild cognitive impairment: A review}},
journal = {Information Fusion},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1016/j.inffus.2025.103202},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inffus.2025.103202}
}
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