VR-Based Test for Functional Assessment of Whiplash Injuries

Objective assessment of the severity of whiplash injuries is difficult for many reasons. This paper therefore describes a VR-based approach to assessment of cervical range-of-motion (ROM) in whiplash injury patients. Patient's task in the test is to maintain a virtual marker on a static virtual object at different positions within the virtual world. The data about oscillations of patient's head in flexion-extension and axial rotation directions are collected continuously during the ten-second interval by the microcontroller data acquisition system. From the collected data, various quantities (arithmetic means, standard deviations, maximum turn angles...) are calculated for both directions. Two groups of people are tested- whiplash injury patients and asymptomatic control group. The results obtained show some characteristics of human's neck system in general, and differences between the two tested groups. All assessed individuals experience more intense head oscillations in the axial rotation direction than in flexion-extension direction. Tested whiplash injury patients exhibit a markedly reduced ROM in both directions, an increased asymmetry of ROM in FE direction, and generally higher head oscillations then the control group. The final sections discuss the need for measures of subject's consistency between various functional tests of whiplash injuries, and outline the plans for further research and development.