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To provide the best vestibular rehabilitation care in the region, WWS Physical Therapy and Vestibular Rehabilitation clinic, Doylestown, PA., has added the video head impulse test (vHIT) to our diagnostic assessment of patients with dizziness.
vHIT is one of the latest developments in vestibular testing. WWSPT is adding the video head impulse test because extensive research has shown that this new technology can help more accurately measure the function of all six semicircular canals (SSCs) of the inner ear.
The test measures a person’s vestibular ocular reflex (VOR), or how much the eyes move in response to rapid head movement to focus on a visual target. With quick head movements, the patient should be able to keep his eyes focused on a target. When the VOR is reduced, the patient will have difficulty, especially at higher head movement speeds. The video head impulse test can help detect even the slightest losses in VOR function, which can help direct treatment progression. It can also track improvement in deficits after a program of vestibular exercises.
The test itself only takes around 15 minutes to perform. The physical therapist moves the patient’s head in small movements while the patient is looking at a target on the wall. The high-frequency camera system and head accelerometer monitor how the eyes move and the head acceleration. Comparing the eye movement to the head movement is how the computer calculates the gain of the canal of the vestibular system being tested.
After interpreting the test, the physical therapist can make a report which can be shared with the patient and the referring physician.
Wendy Webb Schoenewald, PT, OCS
WWS Physical Therapy and Vestibular Rehabilitation
Doylestown, PA.
(215) 489- 3234