Visual Analysis of Panoramic Radiographs among Pediatric Dental Residents Using Eye-Tracking Technology: A Cross-Sectional Study

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore the eye tracking (ET) performance of postgraduate pediatric dental students in correctly detecting abnormalities in different sets of panoramic radiographs. This observational study recruited postgraduate pediatric dental students to evaluate seven panoramic radiographs. RED-m (R) SMI software (Sensomotoric Instruments, Teltow, Germany) was used to track the participants' eye movements as they looked at the radiographs. The data collected for areas of interest (AOIs) included revisit counts, fixation counts, fixation times, entry times, and dwell times. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted to summarize the participants' characteristics and ET measures. The overall percentage of correctly located AOIs was 71.7%. The residents had significantly more revisits and fixation counts in AOIs located in one sextant than in multiple sextants (p < 0.001). Similar patterns were observed for fixation and dwell times (p < 0.001), but not for entry time. Heatmaps showed that the highest density of fixations was on the AOIs and the residents fixated more on dentition than on bony structures. In single-sextant radiographs, residents had significantly more revisits and fixation counts for AOIs compared to those of multiple sextants. Residents had slower entry times and dwelled less on AOIs located in multiple sextant(s). The reported findings can direct dental educators to develop a standardized scan scheme of panoramic radiographs to minimize misdiagnosis.