Research on utilization of virtual reality as optical stimulation in electronystagmography

The paper presents a research on the utilization of an up-to-date virtual reality set as a stimulation during an electronystagmography examination. The main aim of the research was to test whether an optical stimulation generated by means of virtual reality presented in a helmet-mounted display is comparable with the same methods of stimulation generated in a human natural environment. The experiments were conducted using an amplifier of electronystagmography signals, an acquisition software and the Oculus Development Kit 2 virtual reality set. As traditional stimuli were used animations displayed on the LCD monitor screen. The electronystagmograms registered with a virtual optokinetic stimulation were compared with results obtained using traditional stimulating methods. Additionally, a questionnaire on comfort was conducted among participants of the experiment. To asses the similarity of signals registered using both methods the Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated and the standard deviation. The results of tests showed that electronystagmograms registered during the virtual stimulation were consistent with the records registered during the traditional stimulation. Moreover, the results of the questionnaire on comfort while using a virtual reality headset are very encouraging showing that headset is at least neutral for participants.