Virtual Reality Application for Vestibular/Ocular Motor Screening: Current Clinical Protocol Versus a Novel...

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Neurology
• Ophthalmology

Background:

• Virtual reality (VR) is explored for sport-related concussion (SRC) assessments.
• Some individuals experience VR-related symptoms, potentially hindering vestibular/ocular motor screening (VOMS) use.
• Baseline VR VOMS symptomatology can differentiate baseline from overall symptoms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare symptom provocation change score (SPCS) and near point of convergence (NPC) in manual VOMS (MAN), prototype (PRO), and VR.
• To assess sex differences in VOMS administration across MAN, PRO, and VR methods.

Main Methods:

• A cohort study involving 688 NCAA Division I student-athletes over three years (2019-2021).
• Athletes completed VOMS via MAN (N=111), PRO (N=365), and VR (N=212) during annual baseline testing.
• Exclusion criteria included motion sickness, neurological issues, ADHD, learning disabilities, or uncorrected vision impairment.

Main Results:

• MAN showed significantly higher baseline and overall SPCS compared to PRO and VR (P < 0.01).
• VR demonstrated significantly greater NPC average measurements than MAN and PRO (P < 0.01).
• Female athletes reported greater SPCS with PRO (P < 0.01), but no significant sex differences were found for VR or MAN.

Conclusions:

• Administering VOMS via VR may not elicit additional symptoms, potentially reducing false positives.
• VR VOMS administration appears relatively stable between sexes.
• VOMS standardization and reduction of false positives are potential benefits for concussion assessment.