Infrared Video-Oculography Goggles

What are Infrared Video-Oculography Goggles?

Simply put, Infrared Video-Oculography Goggles (or IVOG, for short) are goggles that allow your physical therapist to take a video recording of your eyes in the dark and while performing certain tests and movements. These videos help the physical therapist to identify abnormal eye movements that indicate a specific condition, such as Benign Paroxymal Positional Vertigo (also known as BPPV). Specific eye movements indicate specific conditions.

Your physical therapist can show you what is happening with your eyes during the tests they perform by playing the video back with you right here in our clinic. 

Why is testing with IVOG helpful?

There are several tests that can and are done without goggles, but the physical therapist must then rely on their ability to watch the patient's eyes while helping them into various positions. Many of these tests can make the patient's symptoms significantly worse. If the therapist has to look away or cannot get a good angle on the patient's eyes as they are moving, or the patient refuses to stay in a position long enough for the therapist to see a delayed eye movement response, it can be harder to identify and make a diagnosis. The goggles allow for a recording that can be reviewed over and over to confirm not only if there was an abnormal response, but also the direction of eye movement, if that movement changes with different positions or over time, and the intensity of the movement, all of which are important to accurate diagnosis.

There are also some tests that cannot be done without goggles. One example would be a spontaneous nystagmus test "without fixation," which simply means in the dark without anything for your eyes to focus on. The infrared goggles allow the patient's eyes to be in the dark but the therapist can still observe their movements. The goggles also allow the therapist to turn on a fixation light, to compare the eyes with and without fixation. Again, having video evidence of what is happening under different conditions can help identify the cause of a patient's symptoms.

Additionally, the videos can be shared with a patient's other healthcare providers to provide more effective collaborative care as a team.

Who can benefit from testing with IVOG?

People with peripheral disorders such as Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV), Meniere’s Disease, Vestibular Neuritis or Labyrinthitis, Acoustic Neuroma (vestibular schwannoma), or Labyrinthine Infarction.

People with central disorders such as Post-Stroke and Central Disorders, Visual Vertigo, Post-Concussive Syndrome (PCS), Vestibular Migraine, or Motion Sensitivity.

Anyone with unexplained vertigo, dizziness, or related symptoms who wants to narrow down and treat the cause of their symptoms.