Voices of XR with Ania Busza - VRtigo: A Virtual Reality–Based Tool for Objective Assessment of Vestibular and Cerebellar Function in Acute Vertigo”

Sudden onset vertigo, a sense of movement or spinning, is a condition that people often present with in acute care settings like hospital emergency departments. Currently, it is difficult for doctors and nurses to distinguish clinically between vertigo caused by peripheral vestibular disorders (a problem involving the inner ear or vestibular nerve) and vertigo caused by stroke (a medical emergency), and many patients are kept in the hospital for long evaluations and costly imaging such as MRI to ensure patient safety. We have developed a virtual reality (VR)–based battery of tests designed for rapid assessment of vestibular and cerebellar function at the point of care. In this talk, I will describe our system and present preliminary findings to demonstrate the type of data we are able to collect with our system. I will then describe future plans and present lessons learned while developing a VR system for medical diagnoses.