On the Quest for Ophthalmological Biomarkers for Long COVID: A Scoping Review

COVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has caused millions of cases and fatalities around the world. It is clearer and clearer how ex-COVID-19 patients endure neurological symptoms, such as headaches and cognitive impairment, in addition to respiratory problems. Long COVID refers to symp...

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Main Authors: Wanzi Su, Laura Statham, Carla Jammal, Leandro Pecchia, Damon Hoad, Davide Piaggio
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/11/6126
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author Wanzi Su
Laura Statham
Carla Jammal
Leandro Pecchia
Damon Hoad
Davide Piaggio
author_facet Wanzi Su
Laura Statham
Carla Jammal
Leandro Pecchia
Damon Hoad
Davide Piaggio
author_sort Wanzi Su
collection DOAJ
description COVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has caused millions of cases and fatalities around the world. It is clearer and clearer how ex-COVID-19 patients endure neurological symptoms, such as headaches and cognitive impairment, in addition to respiratory problems. Long COVID refers to symptoms that continue after the acute phase, impacting millions of people and having severe socioeconomic consequences. The pathogenesis of neurological symptoms in long-term COVID is still unknown, making diagnosis and management difficult. The purpose of this review is to investigate the ophthalmological/neurological effects of prolonged COVID and the possibility of eye-tracking technology as an objective biomarker for diagnosis and monitoring. A scoping literature review was carried out, yielding 15 relevant studies. Several ophthalmological signals, such as saccadic movements and pupillary reflexes, were found to be significantly affected in patients with long COVID. These signals were measured using a variety of methods, including infrared cameras and eye-tracking systems. The study emphasises the need for more research to develop standardised biomarkers for long COVID diagnosis and monitoring. Understanding the ophthalmological impacts of long COVID can help develop novel tools for assessing and controlling this disorder.
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spelling doaj-art-0ec33a73d08e4596a185ed577c2eb1262025-08-20T03:11:30ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-05-011511612610.3390/app15116126On the Quest for Ophthalmological Biomarkers for Long COVID: A Scoping ReviewWanzi Su0Laura Statham1Carla Jammal2Leandro Pecchia3Damon Hoad4Davide Piaggio5School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Library Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UKWarwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UKWarwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UKDepartment of Engineering, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Via Alvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Roma, ItalyWarwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UKSchool of Engineering, University of Warwick, Library Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UKCOVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has caused millions of cases and fatalities around the world. It is clearer and clearer how ex-COVID-19 patients endure neurological symptoms, such as headaches and cognitive impairment, in addition to respiratory problems. Long COVID refers to symptoms that continue after the acute phase, impacting millions of people and having severe socioeconomic consequences. The pathogenesis of neurological symptoms in long-term COVID is still unknown, making diagnosis and management difficult. The purpose of this review is to investigate the ophthalmological/neurological effects of prolonged COVID and the possibility of eye-tracking technology as an objective biomarker for diagnosis and monitoring. A scoping literature review was carried out, yielding 15 relevant studies. Several ophthalmological signals, such as saccadic movements and pupillary reflexes, were found to be significantly affected in patients with long COVID. These signals were measured using a variety of methods, including infrared cameras and eye-tracking systems. The study emphasises the need for more research to develop standardised biomarkers for long COVID diagnosis and monitoring. Understanding the ophthalmological impacts of long COVID can help develop novel tools for assessing and controlling this disorder.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/11/6126COVID-19long COVIDneurological symptomsophthalmological biomarkerseye-tracking technologypupillary reflexes
spellingShingle Wanzi Su
Laura Statham
Carla Jammal
Leandro Pecchia
Damon Hoad
Davide Piaggio
On the Quest for Ophthalmological Biomarkers for Long COVID: A Scoping Review
Applied Sciences
COVID-19
long COVID
neurological symptoms
ophthalmological biomarkers
eye-tracking technology
pupillary reflexes
title On the Quest for Ophthalmological Biomarkers for Long COVID: A Scoping Review
title_full On the Quest for Ophthalmological Biomarkers for Long COVID: A Scoping Review
title_fullStr On the Quest for Ophthalmological Biomarkers for Long COVID: A Scoping Review
title_full_unstemmed On the Quest for Ophthalmological Biomarkers for Long COVID: A Scoping Review
title_short On the Quest for Ophthalmological Biomarkers for Long COVID: A Scoping Review
title_sort on the quest for ophthalmological biomarkers for long covid a scoping review
topic COVID-19
long COVID
neurological symptoms
ophthalmological biomarkers
eye-tracking technology
pupillary reflexes
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/11/6126
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