Meldrum D, Murray D, Scallan R, Hayden C, Walter E, Molina B. Academic Unit of Neurology, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Purpose/Hypothesis
• Head movement kinematics are altered in vestibular disease1,2 and head movement is both the cause of symptoms and a significant component of rehabilitation.3
• Oversight of head movement during the vestibular rehabilitation program is desirable both to track and progress exercises.
• This study aimed to validate a novel wearable head sensor4 against the gold standard video head impulse test (vHIT).
Methods
- N=10 healthy adults (mean age 35, 7F:3M) simultaneously wore the novel head sensor (VERTIGENIUS CE) and the vHIT goggles (Otometrics).
- Participants performed 30 secs of vestibular adaptation exercises at frequencies of 50, 80, 100 and 120 Beats Per Minute (BPM), paced with a metronome (Fig.2).
- Angular velocity of head movement (deg/sec) in yaw and pitch planes from both systems were time stamped & converted to frequency (BPM).
- A Two-way ANOVA and Bland and Altman analysis were used to determine agreement between the systems.
Results
• No significant differences were found between the two systems at any frequency (BPM) of head movement except for lower frequency of vertical head movement (50BPM) (Fig 3, Table 1).
• Velocities of head movement (degree/sec) at different frequencies are shown in Table 1.
Clinical Bottom Line
• Wearable sensors that accurately track head kinematics have the potential to advance understanding of exercise performance and progression during vestibular rehabilitation, providing feedback to patients and oversight for clinicians.
• The VERTIGENIUS head sensor tracks head frequency with acceptable accuracy during adaptation exs.
• A clinical study is underway using the VERTIGENIUS sensor and digital platform recruiting individuals with MS for vestibular rehabilitation.
Conclusion
• The VERTIGENIUS head sensor had high agreement with the vHIT at movement frequencies that are considered therapeutic for vestibular rehabilitation.
References
- Wang, L., Zobeiri, O.A., Millar, J.L., Schubert, M.C. and Cullen, K.E., 2021. Head movement kinematics are altered during gaze stability exercises in vestibular schwannoma patients. Scientific reports, 11(1), pp.1-15.
- Mijovic, T., Carriot, J., Zeitouni, A. and Cullen, K.E., 2014. Head movements in patients with vestibular lesion: a novel approach to functional assessment in daily life setting. Otology & neurotology: official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology, 35(10), p.e348.
- Lehnen, N., Kellerer, S., Knorr, A.G., Schlick, C., Jahn, K., Schneider, E., Heuberger, M. and Ramaioli, C., 2018. Head-movement-emphasized rehabilitation in bilateral vestibulopathy. Frontiers in neurology, 9, p.562.
- Meldrum, D., et al. (2022). “Toward a Digital Health Intervention for Vestibular Rehabilitation: Usability and Subjective Outcomes of a Novel Platform.” Frontiers in Neurology 13.
