An invention at a local hospital has economic and health implications that could ripple across the country. For the purpose of conversation, let's call them "dizzy goggles." They don't make you dizzy. No, people who need these are quite off balance already. One patient describes the feeling as "A combination of floating and spinning." Imagine feeling like that all the time?
There are thousands of people who do feel persistent dizziness, and don't know why. In fact, it's one of the top 10 reasons people go to the emergency room. When they do, "The ER doctor can be overwhelmed by a dizziness complaint and will order a multitude of tests, sometimes invasive," says co-inventor, Dr. Michael O'Leary at Alvarado Hospital. These tests, looking for tumors, heart problems or drug interactions can costs thousands of dollars per patient. The dizzy goggles will tell doctors in one minute if the dizziness is because of a specific inner ear disorder.
The inner ear is lined with calcium carbonate or crystals, attached to tiny hairs. The structures are critical in keeping us upright, balanced. But sometimes, because of a blow to the head, or even a bad sinus infection, these crystals get loose. When they float around in the inner ear, people have problems. They feel anything from a persistent vertigo, where the floor and the ceiling seem to reverse themselves; to a mild situational dizziness. People can have a host of other visual distortions too.
Drs. O'Leary and Purcell are now trying to get the goggles distributed to ERs across the country. "Instead of making the diagnosis at the sub-specialists office, make it where the money is being wasted and where the patients are walking around not being diagnosed accurately," said O'Leary.
Each pair of goggles will cost about $500.
There's also a home version, which people will be able to get from their doctor. They record their eye movements at home, and email the file back to the doctor's office for diagnosis, whether they live across the country or around the world.
