Assessment of balance disorder and vestibular dysfunction using mixed reality

Background: Balance disorder and vestibular dysfunction are related to an increase of the risk of fall related to the ageing of people and to specific pathologies. Mixed Reality is a new tool that could support the clinicians during the hospital activities. The aim of this work is to propose a first version of Mixed Reality application to support the clinicians in fall risk diagnosis. Material and Methods: The application is based on Unity Engine to present the Mixed Reality environment on HoloLensTM 2 used in combination with the Wii Balance Board, managed with Vestlab application, to evaluate the movement of pelvis. The subject must reach with pelvis 8 different target on a 2D plane. Nineteen healthy subjects performed the test. Results and Conclusion. The HoloLens 2 tracks the 3D movement and rotation of the eyes and of the head, meanwhile from the Vestlab application tracks the movement of the pelvis. The evaluation of the application shows the adaptability of Mixed Reality to offer to clinicians a new tool to diagnose the risk of fall by tracking the trajectory and the rotation of the head and of the pelvis.