JMU pioneers technique to better diagnose balance disorders
Newswise — Researchers in JMU’s have developed a cutting-edge method to diagnose balance disorders and treat diseases common in middle-aged and elderly Americans.
More than 69 million (35%) Americans 40 years and older experience balance system dysfunction, according to the The JMU research is being funded by a $1.89 million, five-year grant from the .
, a professor of , said the experimental measures she developed with her team will involve placing electrodes on the skin around the eyes and neck and then playing a stimulus through a bone vibrator placed behind the ear or on the forehead.
“This type of stimulus causes the skull to vibrate and will give us a detectable reaction from the muscles we placed the electrodes over,” Piker said. “The stimulus is more complex than what is typically used and allows us to make new kinds of measurements.”
Piker said traditional tests use sound introduced to the ear with an earphone. With sound, the intensity level must be very high to elicit a detectable response. However, to obtain the kind of measurements she hopes for, the sound would have to be played too loud.
With vibration, the sound does not need to be played as loud, Piker said.
Piker said her research could help address balance system changes that occur with diseases such as Meniere’s disease. "We know the vestibular system is affected, but current findings are very mixed as to what parts and how much."
The study also will provide data on balance and gait to see how they correlate to everyday functions.
"We are starting with looking at changes with aging," Piker said. "We expect to see some decline in the vestibular system as we age, starting at middle age."
Piker said data collection could take a year or two before some early findings are published. Undergraduate and graduate students will have roles in the research along with a research audiologist who will be new to the department when hired.
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