Specialists and academics from Kocaeli and Kahramanmaraş in Türkiye are working to develop two portable systems for analyzing eye and head movements, enabling examinations related to vertigo and balance disorders to be conducted using a mobile phone or laptop. The two projects are supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK), in cooperation between Kocaeli City Hospital and Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University.
The system is intended to reduce reliance on fixed balance laboratories and specialized trained personnel, while enabling its use in various healthcare units, from outpatient clinics to emergency departments. According to the article, one of the projects was launched last month, while the other began in August of last year.
What are the medical and engineering teams developing?
The project focuses on developing software and devices associated with two types of balance tests. The first is Mobile VNG, a portable device that records eye movements, and the second is Mobile Video Head Impulse, which measures coordination between head and eye movements during reflex testing.
Kocaeli City Hospital is responsible for the healthcare and clinical aspects, while the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University is working on developing the mobile application and software. The team aims to use artificial intelligence algorithms to track eye movements and detect nystagmus, or involuntary eye movements medically known as nystagmus.
Why does this development matter?
Vertigo and balance disorders appear in conditions that may be associated with the inner ear, brain, cerebellum, or brainstem. Therefore, distinguishing between their different causes is an important part of medical assessment. However, access to advanced balance tests may be limited and costly, according to those leading the project.
In practice, transferring some of these tests to portable devices could expand their use in facilities where specialized laboratories are unavailable. The project also bets that local production will reduce reliance on imported equipment and lower the cost of use, but these goals remain dependent on the results of the clinical phase.
What changes compared with current examinations?
Prof. Dr. Halil Erdem Özel of the Ear, Nose and Throat Department at Kocaeli City Hospital explained that VNG tests currently in use are generally conducted in a fixed laboratory setting, using glasses known as Google Glass that are connected to a computer by cable. The proposed system seeks to make the process wireless and more portable, relying on a phone or laptop and adding new software functions.
In the Mobile Video Head Impulse test, the system tracks the patient's head and eye movements while measuring reflexes. The team aims to use it in emergency departments as well as clinics, but the article does not state that it has entered medical service or received regulatory approval so far.
Current stage
Doç. Dr. Turab Selçuk of Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University said that the two projects are undergoing clinical studies. Therefore, in its current state, the system represents a research project for developing a portable screening tool, not an announcement of a diagnostic device available for general use or a confirmed substitute for specialized medical assessment.