Virtual Reality Brain Monitor

A new mobile system utilizes a virtual reality (VR) platform to diagnose concussions quickly and accurately. Called EYE-SYNC®, the device analyzes the wearer’s eye movements to provide an objective assessment of visual attention, which can be linked to cognitive or motor difficulties following injury.

Brain “whiplash” from a blow to the head impairs connections in the frontal cortex which control the attention pathways and are linked to eye movement. EYE-SYNC tracks eye movements in response to a repetitive circular stimulus and measures the subject’s ability to predict the spatial and temporal path over a 15-second period. The results can be compared to a standardized metric or a person’s own baseline measurement, making the device useful for screening as well as for tracking recovery over the course of several days or weeks, depending on the severity of the injury.

The system has been tested on athletes to screen for concussions on the playing field, and far exceeds other methods with a test/retest reliability factor of 0.8. The Department of Defense is also evaluating EYE-SYNC to provide real time functional assessments on the battlefield.