Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41618207›Full record

ArticleBMC psychiatry2026

Real-world application of an eye-tracking device for autism screening and diagnosis: a short report from public demonstrations in Qatar, Dubai and the U.S.

Fouad Al Shaban, Thomas W Frazier, Iman Ghazal, Fatema Al-Faraj, Sarah Aqel, I Richard Thompson

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Fouad Al ShabanNeurological Disorders Research Center, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar. falshaban@hbku.edu.qa.
Thomas W FrazierDepartment of Psychology, John Carroll University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Iman GhazalNeurological Disorders Research Center, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar.
Fatema Al-FarajNeurological Disorders Research Center, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar.
Sarah AqelNeurological Disorders Research Center, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar.
I Richard ThompsonNorth East and Yorkshire NHS Genomic Laboratory Hub, Leeds, England.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSocial attention abnormalities are a hallmark of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), often characterized by atypical gaze patterns.

aimThis report showed the real-world feasibility of an eye-tracking–based screening paradigm for ASD across diverse general population samples.

methodsA total of 536 adults participated in public demonstrations. An Autism Index (AI), derived from a previously validated eye-tracking paradigm, was calculated from gaze patterns toward social and nonsocial stimuli. Participants were stratified into typically developing (TD), neurodivergent, and ASD groups based on validated AI cut-offs.

resultsMedian AI scores differed significantly across groups − 0.31 (TD), 0.53 (neurodivergent), and 0.69 (ASD)- with post-hoc tests confirming higher scores in the ASD and neurodivergent groups versus TD. Gender-based analyses showed that males had significantly higher AI scores than females (p = 0.028). Among those classified as ASD, 95% reported a formal diagnosis, supporting the validity of the tool. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.997. At the optimal cut-off score of 0.555, the tool achieved 100% sensitivity and 99.4% specificity.

conclusionThis report highlights the feasibility and accuracy of the eye-tracking paradigm as a scalable and objective screening tool for ASD in general adult populations, supporting its potential for broader clinical implementation. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderAutistic DisorderEye-Tracking TechnologyAdolescentAdultEye MovementsFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedQatarROC CurveUnited StatesYoung AdultAutism indexAutism spectrum disorderDiagnostic accuracyEye-trackingPublic demonstrationsScreening toolSocial attention

Identifiers

PMID41618207
PMCPMC12930968

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.