Question
Why do rotary tests still have a significance in vestibular diagnostics?
Answer
Rotary tests are a particularly efficient method of investigating vestibular function because:
- They constitute a physiological stimulus (acts in pull-push on a pair of canals);
- Provide a stimulus closer to natural stimulation frequencies than thermal tests;
- Are independent of the anatomical structure of the temporal bone of each individual patient;
- Calculate a fundamental parameter: the gain, or the ratio between the eye velocity (output) and the chair/head velocity (input);
- They are the ideal tests for assessing the visuo-vestibular interaction;
- Allow to evaluate the modulating action of the cerebellum through the step test (abrupt stop) which measures the decay and the maximum velocity of the post-rotatory nystagmus;
- Monitor the evolution of compensation for unilateral peripheral vestibular deficits;
- In the case of thermal areflexia (very low frequencies) and / or a low gain at V-HIT (high frequencies), they evaluate the functional efficiency of the vestibule at low and medium frequencies.
Please watch these courses for more information, Vestibular and Balance Assessment in Children with Sensorineural Hearing Loss: An Overview and Recent Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Meniere's Disease.
To learn more about Inventis please visit their Corporate Partner page on AudiologyOnline or inventis.it.
