GN Otometrics has announced the release of its latest version of ICS Impulse for vestibular testing. The new ICS Impulse, which is available for sale in the US and Canada, introduces a modular approach, starting with a base model that offers monocular video frenzel testing.
The company says this base hardware solution, which comes with lightweight goggles, can be updated to include additional vestibular test modules. According to GN Otometrics, the new scalable release of ICS Impulse offers a platform for future expansion into more complex assessment like vHIT.
“When it comes to improving vestibular patient care, a modular approach to vestibular assessment is a game changer,” says Wendy Crumley-Welsh, audiologist and product manager at Otometrics. “Modularity enables customers to determine which solution works best for their practice, and expand into more complex diagnostic and assessment protocols like vHIT when they are ready. We look forward to adding new vestibular test modalities, beyond vHIT, to the Impulse 3.0 platform in the future.”
Crumley-Welsh reports that with the Video Frenzel test module, audiologists, physical therapists, and physicians who treat patients with vestibular symptoms can now test with vision and vision denied, eliminating fixation suppression. Also, caregivers can now view and record sessions in OTOsuite Vestibular software, and extend their screen to an external monitor for improved test visibility.
According to the company, ICS Impulse is the result of more than 20 years of research, which was conducted in conjunction with Michael Halmagyi, MD, and Ian Curthoys, PhD, who are credited with having first described the head impulse test in 1988.
The ICS Impulse 3.0 is available through Audiology Systems in the United States. Learn more about the ICS Impulse and vHIT by reading Crumley-Welsh’s article, “Helping People with Vestibular Disorders,” in the September 2014 edition of The Hearing Review or by visiting the Otometrics website.
Source: GN Otometrics
