Head impulse testing using video-oculography

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 May:1164:331-3. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.03850.x.

Abstract

Head impulses are a routine clinical test of semicircular canal function. At the bedside, they are used to detect malfunctioning of the horizontal semicircular canals. So far, 3-D-search-coil recording is required to reliably test anterior and posterior canal function and to determine the gain of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). Search-coil recording cannot be done at the bedside. Here we tested whether video-oculography (VOG) is suitable to assess VOR gain for individual canals at the bedside. We recorded head impulses in healthy subjects using a mobile high-frame-rate, head-mounted VOG-device and compared the results with those obtained with standard search-coil recording. Our preliminary results indicate that high-frame-rate VOG is a promising tool to measure and quantify individual semicircular canal function not only at the bedside.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Head Movements
  • Humans
  • Reflex, Vestibulo-Ocular*
  • Semicircular Canals / physiology