The Human Oculomotor Database (HOD):
The HOD was developed by Dr. Helm in response to the great demand for a comprehensive solution to video oculography interpretation. The idea is to prospectively collect oculographic data from thousands of patients and then correlate the data to other information such as neurological examinations, patient age, MRI imaging, and medication use. Eventually, Dr. Helm hopes to make the data available to other balance centers so that more precise, cost-effective analyses can be made.

Vestibular assesment in patients with migraine:
It is common for migraine patients to suffer from dizziness. Given the fact that we see thousands of patients with migraine at our center every year, we have many opportunities to evaluate patients with migraine and dizziness. We are conducting several ongoing studies of vestibular function in migraine. These include oculomotor testing and studies of the vestibulo-ocular reflex in migraineurs. The idea is to develop an objective system for differentiating migraine from other causes of dizziness.

Methods of reducing motion-induced nausea:
Patient comfort is important to us, and we are always looking for new ways reducing nausea without using medications that would interfere with testing or vestibular rehabilitation therapy. Several noninvasive strategies for reducing nausea are being evaluated at our center by studying responses to optokinetic and caloric stimulation.

Optokinetic Stimulation in Vestibular Rehabilitation:
This is a novel way to treat patients with vertigo. During optokinetic stimulation, the patient views a moving pattern that is projected onto the wall. This induces involuntary eye movements like those seen while looking at scenery from a moving car. Previous studies have shown that exposure to optokinetic stimuli hastens the recovery from vestibular injury. We are working different variations of this treatment in order to establish an optimal protocol.