TY - JOUR
T1 - Vibrotactile feedback improves balance and mobility in patients with severe bilateral vestibular loss
AU - Kingma, Herman
AU - Felipe, Lilian
AU - Gerards, Marie-Cecile
AU - Gerits, Peter
AU - Guinand, Nils
AU - Perez-Fornos, Angelica
AU - Demkin, Vladimir
AU - van de Berg, Raymond
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Project No. 17-15-01249), de Stichting Universiteits Fonds Limburg (SWOL) and Dutch Health Insurance Companies.
Funding Information:
This manuscript is part of a supplement sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research within the funding initiative for integrated research and treatment centers.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, The Author(s).
PY - 2019/9
Y1 - 2019/9
N2 - The impact of vibrotactile feedback of the gravity vector, provided by a "balance" belt worn around the waist, was evaluated in 39 patients with a severe bilateral vestibular loss, confirmed by extensive laboratory testing and suffering from a low quality of life, mainly due to imbalance. The mobility and balance score (MBS) of all patients prior to the use of the belt was equal or less than 5 out of a scale of 10. Thirty-one out of the 39 patients experienced the effect of the belt on their balance and mobility as positive in a preselection trial of 2 h in the hospital. The 31 positive responders then used the belt for 1 month in daily life. The average MBS increased significantly from 4.2 to 7.9 (paired T test, T = 9.82, p <0.00001). Twenty-three out of 31 patients reported a benefit ranging from an improvement of 60-200% in their MBS. Eight patients did not experience any benefit. In summary, 23 out of 39 patients with a severe imbalance due to a bilateral vestibular loss experienced a clear benefit of vibrotactile feed = back in daily life. We conclude that vibrotactile feedback via the waist can serve as an effective prothesis for patients with severe bilateral vestibular loss to improve the quality of life.
AB - The impact of vibrotactile feedback of the gravity vector, provided by a "balance" belt worn around the waist, was evaluated in 39 patients with a severe bilateral vestibular loss, confirmed by extensive laboratory testing and suffering from a low quality of life, mainly due to imbalance. The mobility and balance score (MBS) of all patients prior to the use of the belt was equal or less than 5 out of a scale of 10. Thirty-one out of the 39 patients experienced the effect of the belt on their balance and mobility as positive in a preselection trial of 2 h in the hospital. The 31 positive responders then used the belt for 1 month in daily life. The average MBS increased significantly from 4.2 to 7.9 (paired T test, T = 9.82, p <0.00001). Twenty-three out of 31 patients reported a benefit ranging from an improvement of 60-200% in their MBS. Eight patients did not experience any benefit. In summary, 23 out of 39 patients with a severe imbalance due to a bilateral vestibular loss experienced a clear benefit of vibrotactile feed = back in daily life. We conclude that vibrotactile feedback via the waist can serve as an effective prothesis for patients with severe bilateral vestibular loss to improve the quality of life.
KW - Vestibular prothesis
KW - Balance
KW - Sensory substitution
KW - Bilateral vestibular loss
KW - SF-36 HEALTH SURVEY
KW - AUDIO-BIOFEEDBACK
KW - CONTROLLED-TRIAL
KW - REHABILITATION
KW - STIMULATION
KW - THERAPY
KW - ADULTS
U2 - 10.1007/s00415-018-9133-z
DO - 10.1007/s00415-018-9133-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 30519776
SN - 0340-5354
VL - 266
SP - 19
EP - 26
JO - Journal of Neurology
JF - Journal of Neurology
ER -