title: Effectiveness of head-mounted vibrotactile stimulation in subjects with bilateral vestibular loss: a phase 1 clinical trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Evaluate the effectiveness of a head-mounted vibrotactile prosthesis for balance improvement in subjects with severe bilateral vestibular loss (BVL).
  
  
  METHODS
  Crossover study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Academic tertiary care vestibular function test center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five subjects with severe BVL as defined by video-oculography, rotational chair, and computerized dynamic posturography criteria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Vibrotactile head tilt feedback
  
  
  METHODS
  Change in Sensory Organization Test (SOT) Conditions 5 and 6 performance (fall-no fall, time to fall, strategy analysis) and dynamic subjective visual vertical (DSVV) response.
  
  
  RESULTS
  1) Significant improvement in binary fall-no fall ratio on SOT 5 and SOT 6 combined (chi2 = 9.603, df = 1, p = 0.001); 2) Significant increase in time to fall measurements on SOT 5 (p < 0.001) and SOT 6 (p < 0.01; 1-tailed t test); 3) Nonsignificant improvement in strategy scores on SOT 5 (p = 0.156) and SOT 6 (p = 0.259; 1-tailed t test); and 4) No significant effect during eccentric DSVV testing (analysis of variance).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Head-mounted vibrotactile stimulation produced significant improvement in postural stability in subjects with BVL undergoing SOT 5 and 6 testing with no effect on subjective visual vertical during DSVV testing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA. goebelj@ent.wustl.edu
authors.forename: Joel A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Goebel
authors.forename: Belinda C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Sinks
authors.forename: B Eugene
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: Neal T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: Aaron B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Olowin
authors.forename: Roger W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Cholewiak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D019416:Head Movements; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology; D012399:Rotation; D015837:Vestibular Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D014724:Vestibular Function Tests; D014732:Vibration / Q000627:therapeutic use*