Innovation of the week: A virtual reality headset that can diagnose concussions
Meet Eye-Sync
Virtual reality could soon help doctors quickly and accurately diagnose concussions, said Daniel Terdiman at Fast Company. The FDA recently approved a virtual reality headset called Eye-Sync that checks the wearer for abnormal eye movement, a telltale sign someone has suffered a concussion. The patient looks into the device, which then records and analyzes eye movements to make a diagnosis "in less than a minute."
Boston-based maker SyncThink sees it as a natural fit for sports, "given how quickly the device can alert medical staff to a player's out-of-sync brain activity after a collision." Stanford's football team already uses the device to screen athletes who have been in serious on-field collisions before returning them to play. The device joins a growing number of medical uses for virtual reality, from treating patients with PTSD to surgical training.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for December 13Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include saving healthcare, the affordability crisis, and more
-
Farage’s £9m windfall: will it smooth his path to power?In Depth The record donation has come amidst rumours of collaboration with the Conservatives and allegations of racism in Farage's school days
-
The issue dividing Israel: ultra-Orthodox draft dodgersIn the Spotlight A new bill has solidified the community’s ‘draft evasion’ stance, with this issue becoming the country’s ‘greatest internal security threat’