Siberian Scientists are developing a new “virtual testing” model or software using the Google Glass that may help doctors to identify Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and other brain disorders at an early stage.
The software is being developed by researchers at the Tomsk Polytechnic University and the Siberian State Medical University, and they are already using Google Glass to study how healthy people and patients with various diseases react to virtual reality.
The model will also help in identifying an individual’s predisposition to certain brain diseases at an early stage and may even be used for testing children who areas young as five years of age and older, researchers said.
Scientists at Tomsk Polytechnic University and the Siberian State Medical University used Google Glass to study how healthy people and patients with various diseases react to virtual reality. During the experiment, the doctors analysed the participants’ movements in virtual reality provided by a Google Glass headset, an optical display in the form of eyeglasses, ‘RBTH Daily’ reported.
“They evaluated the condition of the muscles (EMG), the brain (EEG) and the vestibular system. There is a difference between the vestibular system’s reaction in healthy people and that
in sick people,” said Ivan Tolmachev, one of the model’s developers.The test was conducted on 70 people — 30 healthy individuals, 20 Parkinson’s patients, and 20 people suffering from sclerosis.
The next stage is to develop special software, which Tolmachev estimates will cost about 1.8 million rubles ($27,500), but this will require certification and further clinical testing.
However it is believed that the Siberian scientists need to study more patients, and it is important that they be in good health because a simple cold can significantly distort the results.
So let’s wait and watch and see what’s next in the field of innovation with regards to technology and diagnosis.
