Towards defining biomarkers to evaluate concussions using virtual reality and a moving platform (BioVRSea)

Abstract

Current diagnosis of concussion relies on self-reported symptoms and medical records rather than objective biomarkers. This work uses a novel measurement setup called BioVRSea to quantify concussion status. The paradigm is based on brain and muscle signals (EEG, EMG), heart rate and center of pressure (CoP) measurements during a postural control task triggered by a moving platform and a virtual reality environment. Measurements were performed on 54 professional athletes who self-reported their history of concussion or non-concussion. Both groups completed a concussion symptom scale (SCAT5) before the measurement. We analyzed biosignals and CoP parameters before and after the platform movements, to compare the net response of individual postural control. The results showed that BioVRSea discriminated between the concussion and non-concussion groups. Particularly, EEG power spectral density in delta and theta bands showed significant changes in the concussion group and right soleus median frequency from the EMG signal differentiated concussed individuals with balance problems from the other groups. Anterior–posterior CoP frequency-based parameters discriminated concussed individuals with balance problems. Finally, we used machine learning to classify concussion and non-concussion, demonstrating that combining SCAT5 and BioVRSea parameters gives an accuracy up to 95.5%. This study is a step towards quantitative assessment of concussion.

Predicting postural control adaptation measuring EEG, EMG, and center of pressure changes: BioVRSea paradigm

“…The relative power of each region of the cerebral cortex was then calculated by taking the mean of the electrodes located in that region to obtain a total of five EEG-related features per region and per experimental phase. All this preprocessing was performed in a manner analogous to the study of Jacob et al ( 2022 ).…”

“…The processing of the CoP data was performed using MATLAB 2022a, and is the same as previously described in Jacob et al ( 2022 ). During the experiment, the force platform records the movement of the CoP, a projection of the center of mass of the subject on the plane of the machine, also called a stabilogram.…”

“…The recent measurement setup BioVRSea has been used for various research purposes, including the prediction of motion sickness or the evaluation of biomarkers for concussions (Recenti et al, 2021 ; Jacob et al, 2022 ). For this study, BioVRSea was used to explore brain activity, muscle activity, and center of mass to investigate changes in PC responses.…”

Motion sickness susceptibility and visually induced motion sickness as diagnostic signs in Parkinson’s disease

“…Posturographic assessment Posturographic evaluation was the same as the one used by Jacob and colleagues, evaluating individuals suffering from concussion. 38 After removing their shoes, participants were instructed to stand on a forceplate (sampling frequency 90 Hz, Virtualis, Clapiers, France), mounted on a moveable platform (Virtualis, Clapiers, France). The forceplate had four sensors under each foot platform and computed the Center of Pressure (CoP) in antero-posterior (AP) and medio-lateral (ML) axis.…”

“…A VR-based experiment called BioVRSea is used in this case, having previously been shown useful in the assessment of neurophysiological signals of postural control/motion sickness in healthy, 37 and concussion subjects. 38 …”