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iPhone App Helps To Cure Vertigo

Posted by Soulskill on from the stop-the-world-i-want-to-get-off dept.

vleky writes "This is thinking outside the box ... or head. Dr. Matthew Bromwich of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario has written an iPhone app to help doctors with the Epley maneuver to cure some forms of vertigo. The patient places the iPhone against his or her forehead and the app leads the doctor through the maneuver. Bromwich's first attempt at the app sounded even more fun. With that version, the iPhone hung from the front of a baseball cap the patient wore, and the patient tried to keep a ball centered in a twisting tube by moving their head. Winning the game meant the maneuver had been successfully completed and the vertigo cured."

57 comments

  1. iPhone cures vertigo? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    iPhone app cures certain types of vertigo?

    You're pulling my leg. I'm not going to fall for that.

    1. Re:iPhone cures vertigo? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      It's BPPV. It's actually fairly common. I've had it.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benign_paroxysmal_positional_vertigo

      The treatment is also fairly simple -- it's called the Epley Maneuver. You can even do it yourself (there are versions of it that are suitable for self-administration -- you can google them). It's extremely simple... but it's surprising how many general practitioners don't know it (well, mine certainly didn't). They probably read about the procedure in a text book once and then promptly forgot. Essentially the goal is to move the patient's head in a pattern so as to use gravity to re-channel the calcium particles to a location where they don't cause problems.

      It's like: (for clearing stuff up in the left inner ear)
      1) sit up straight for 60 seconds.
      2) quickly lie down, with head tilted 45 degrees to the right for 60 seconds.
      3) tilt head 90 degrees to the left, and remain for 60 seconds.
      4) tilt head another 90 degrees to the left, with face facing the floor diagonally. Stay for 60 seconds.
      5) sit up with head tilted 45 degrees to the left. Remain for 60 seconds.
      6) repeat.
      (directions are opposite for the right inner ear).

      It's all just physics.

    2. Re:iPhone cures vertigo? by pushing-robot · · Score: 4, Funny

      2) head tilted 45 degrees to the right
      3) tilt head 90 degrees to the left
      4) tilt head another 90 degrees to the left

      uh... pictures?

      --
      How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
    3. Re:iPhone cures vertigo? by pitchpipe · · Score: 1

      iPhone app cures certain types of vertigo?

      You're pulling my leg. I'm not going to fall for that.

      Of course it cures vertigo, Steve Jobs invented it! I'm just surprised that no one has come up with an app for walking on water or curing Cancer.

      It is way better than the farting apps though.

      --
      Look where all this talking got us, baby.
    4. Re:iPhone cures vertigo? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but it's surprising how many general practitioners don't know it

      It's a structural issue. There's a hell of a lot to know, and there's a two-sided expectation that the GP will have an authoritative opinion (even if it's to see a specialist) on your complaint on the first visit.

      We've got to get past the traditional, captialized Doctor In Charge image of GPs, and treat them, and expect them to act, as health researchers.

      But if you check the parking lot of any hospital to see what Doctors and Nurses drive, you'll see why there's a lot of resistance by Doctors to admitting they're a glorified Nurse today.

    5. Re:iPhone cures vertigo? by elbiatcho1 · · Score: 1

      Is it 60 seconds or 5 minutes?

      The procedure is as follows:

            1. Sit upright.
            2. Turn your head to the symptomatic side at a 45 degree angle, and lie on your back.
            3. Remain up to 5 minutes in this position.
            4. Turn your head 90 degrees to the other side.
            5. Remain up to 5 minutes in this position.
            6. Roll your body onto your side in the direction you are facing; now you are pointing your head nose down.
            7. Remain up to 5 minutes in this position.
            8. Go back to the sitting position and remain up to 30 seconds in this position.

      The entire procedure should be repeated two more times, for a total of three times.

      During every step of this procedure the patient may experience some dizziness.

    6. Re:iPhone cures vertigo? by safetyinnumbers · · Score: 2, Interesting

      2) head tilted 45 degrees to the right 3) tilt head 90 degrees to the left 4) tilt head another 90 degrees to the left

      uh... pictures?

      I realized that they were relative rotations, but forgot they were in degrees and tried to do radians.

      Worse still, I originally assumed that the rotation axis was about the forwards horizontal....

    7. Re:iPhone cures vertigo? by sjames · · Score: 4, Funny

      So, at what point do you projectile vomit on the priest?

    8. Re:iPhone cures vertigo? by davester666 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Whenever the priest is inline with whatever direction your head happens to be facing, same as always...

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    9. Re:iPhone cures vertigo? by ormondotvos · · Score: 1

      Believe it, bubba!!! I was suffering badly from BPPV when this was invented, and it flat cured me. If you haven't thrown up violently for two or three hours, every time you moved your head, you've really missed something. It's from calcium particles banging around in your delicate little sensing tips in the semicircular canals. The Epley procedure allows them to trickle into a place where they get stuck and don't annoy the balance whiskers. I might just buy an iPhone for this. I've had the YouTube for this at the top of my bookmarks for a looong time.

    10. Re:iPhone cures vertigo? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      iPhone app cures certain types of vertigo?

      You're pulling my leg. I'm not going to fall for that.

      Warning: The cure may cause your new girlfriend to accidentally leap from the nearest bell tower.

  2. iPod Touch by BlueBoxSW.com · · Score: 1

    Sounds like a job for an iPod touch, not an iPhone.

    A great use for a 200 dollar piece of equipment that has no contract.

    Hey Goole, can you give us a variety of contract-free touch-like devices?

    1. Re:iPod Touch by alvinrod · · Score: 1

      I'm assuming that the App would work on the iPod Touch since it too uses the iPhone OS. I'm guessing that the story name stems from this fact. If the device came out for the Droid or Nexus One, the story name would have probably been "Android App Helps To Cure Vertigo." I can see how the device and the operating system sharing the same name might be confusing.

    2. Re:iPod Touch by BlueBoxSW.com · · Score: 1

      Yeah, it's just a pet peeve of mine. One of the reasons why the the iphone OS is making inroads into all of these niche areas is the availability of cheap contract-free iPod touch devices. As a developer this makes a lot of sense.

      From a marketing perspective, however, it is much more attractive to put out devices that require phone contracts, because it's a long-term revenue stream.

      If google really wants to grow android market share, they have to address this need, or force their partners to address it.

      I recently worked on a project where the client company gave over 1,000 iPod touches to their salespeople loaded with info they needed. The salespeople didn't need phones. They have phones. They needed the information in a timely fashion in a tool they could easily update and manage.

    3. Re:iPod Touch by safetyinnumbers · · Score: 1

      One of the reasons why the the iphone OS is making inroads into all of these niche areas is the availability of cheap contract-free iPod touch devices.

      Nokia started with non-phones, the Nokia 770 and 800, resulting in all manner of apps for Maemo.

    4. Re:iPod Touch by RDW · · Score: 1

      Some of Google's partners have addressed this need by making Android phones that are cheaper than the iTouch (I'm posting this on one). Phone chips aren't expensive. Apple maintains an artificial price differential between the iTouch and the iPhone (where PAYG or unlocked units are available) for marketing reasons.

    5. Re:iPod Touch by BlueBoxSW.com · · Score: 1

      Interesting, but that's a whole different OS, not Android or iPhone.

      It looks like they may have been ahead of their time in some ways, but I don't see a huge ground swell of development (400 people at the 2009 developer's conference?).

      Is there a future in Maemo? Or will Nokia just switch to Android?

    6. Re:iPod Touch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nokia is partnering with Intel to switch to Meego... an OS that isn't out yet.
      http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/maemo-moblin-meego

  3. The Linux fans have lost their motivation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't think Linux really have any fight left in them. Back in the late 1990s to early 2000s there was a feeling that Linux was just about to explode and Microsoft's days were numbered. Now with "Year of Desktop Linux" having become a joke the fire really has gone out. The old zealotry and passion just isn't there anymore.

    All the action on the Linux front is now off in commercial development leaving the old hardcore teenage Linux fans disillusioned and unmotivated these days.

  4. I bet that... by broknstrngz · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...when a perpetuum mobile is finally invented, it will run on an iPhone.

    1. Re:I bet that... by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      And you'll hear about it on slashdot first!

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  5. The Game by bman · · Score: 1

    The Game

  6. iPad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What if the doc only has an iPad? Would be a sight to see!

  7. Game machines for physical conditioning by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    First the Wii (Wii Remote), then the iPod/iPhone (accelerometer) ... These people are geniuses. I wonder what else will they think of?

  8. Re:What The Hell Happened To Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is this true? I'm a little bit worried about Eric.

  9. Seems useless to me by Khyber · · Score: 1

    I suffer from BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo) and I'd probably have to' win the game' about thirty times before I actually managed to get the calcium inner ear weights to get back into their proper positions.

    I don't need a device to tell me my vertigo is cured, as the device can't understand what I'm feeling at the exact moment. Also, a cure implies it should never occur ever again. Guess what I have to do nearly on a weekly basis?

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    1. Re:Seems useless to me by DeadboltX · · Score: 1

      Cure does not imply permanence or preventative nature. That is your own misunderstanding of the word.

    2. Re:Seems useless to me by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Maybe you have to do it 30 times because you're not doing it right? In which case $15 on this app would be the best money you ever spent.

      (Assuming the app is all it's cracked up to be.)

    3. Re:Seems useless to me by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Cure does not imply permanence or preventative nature. That is your own misunderstanding of the word.

      I strongly disagree. The word "treatment" is the one you're looking for.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Seems useless to me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I cured my hiccups using a new treatment. Doesn't mean I'll never get hiccups again. If they come back I'll try a different treatment, but it will be the same cure as last time.

    5. Re:Seems useless to me by Khyber · · Score: 1

      You can't do it right the first time, there are multiple calcium deposits in your inner ear that act as balance weights. Almost all of mine are loose and it takes about 45 minutes to get them back into the right position (outside of the semicircular canals.)

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    6. Re:Seems useless to me by Skal+Tura · · Score: 1

      I feel for you.
      I suffer from tiredness related vertigo and BPPV by self diagnosis. and when it hits it's really annoying, and can last upto days. Sometimes going to certain positions seems to cure it however for months, and first time it started from a bad position: I was leaning forwards all the way from my chair to floor to fiddle with computer innards and a bad dizziness struck. It lasted for weeks, until i was again leaning forwards adjusting carburators on my car for idle speed. But always tiredness had a change to it even then, more tired, the worse it got. When driving a car back then it eased a lot.

      Ever since the first time however, it seems to be about how tired i am. Go and figure? Doctors wouldn't diagnose it further, only told me to exercise and stretch my neck area, rest more and take it easy. I had high blood pressure at the time of first incident as well.

      It still today starts always when i'm too tired (couple weeks with 6hrs or less sleep, or sleeping during the wrong hours might trigger it aswell), but the first time it seemed positional. Who knows. Once i was welding and a big ball of red hot sludge flew into my left ear, deep in there. So maybe that has caused me to have vertigo occasionally? Then again, when i goto the track and if i'm having vertigo, the first couple laps are really hard with vertigo when the g forces hit, but then it eases and i'm able to concentrate at ease even during high G-force cornering. So that sounds like positional.

      Maybe i should visit doctor again and demand them to diagnose? (Good luck with that, Finnish public healthcare being what it is)

      --
      Pulsed Media Seedboxes
  10. A bit misleading.. by Trecares · · Score: 5, Informative

    While the Epley maneuver is effective, it does not actually cure the problem. The problem is that sometimes particles form in the inner ear and can disturb the nerves that senses changes in balance. The maneuver only moves them to a different location where they don't cause problems. The particles are still there. They occasionally can get back into a place where they can cause problems. I've had it for 10 years and it comes and goes. However, it still is better than nothing.

    1. Re:A bit misleading.. by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      I think I have it, mildly.

      When I'm not 100% awake (ie, less than 8 hours rest) I'll feel like things are moving when they are not, and have some subtle balance problems. This comes and goes. I think I'm just good at dealing with it. That I lack the nausea component of motion sickness etc, I think lends to my supposition that I'm just good at dealing with it :). I get the sensation that I'm floating or in a state of lower gravity (like when driving over a crest of a hill, except not in the gut, and it lasts on the order of hours). Going into a wide open space (ie, parking lot) that still has fixed references seems to make it go away for a while.

      It wouldn't surprise me. I had tons of problems with my ears as a child, so far that I have no bones in one ear, instead having a plastic rod replacing them. Also, one of my mastoid processes is missing now too :P

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    2. Re:A bit misleading.. by severoon · · Score: 1

      Why would you think that the position of particles in your inner ear are somehow related to the amount of sleep you get?

      --
      but have you considered the following argument: shut up.
    3. Re:A bit misleading.. by Kilrah_il · · Score: 1

      Actually, the Epley maneuver is about 95% effective in treating BPPV ( http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/884261-treatment ) and in many patients it is a permanent cure (the recurrence rate is 10-25% - http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/884261-followup). The fact that for you it is not so, does not mean no one will benefit from it. P.S. You do not need to move the Calcium particles back to their original place for the maneuver to be considered a cure. Having them someplace "out of the way" is enough.

      --
      Whenever in an argument, remember this.
    4. Re:A bit misleading.. by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      I don't. I think my ability to 'compensate' or ignore it is.

      Just like I feel pain more sharply when tired, or when uncorrected my astigmatism is much more noticeable.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    5. Re:A bit misleading.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Epley maneuver can indeed cure the problem, we think. The calcium crystals (otoconia), when properly repositioned out of the semi-circular canals and back into the otolith organs, tend to be reabsorbed within about 48 hours. At least this is the case with rats. As of yet we haven't cut open any humans to find out if this is true with us as well. But the evidence seems to bear this out. Recurrence of symptoms is most likely other otoconia being knocked loose in a similar fashion, not the same particles rolling out of place again.

    6. Re:A bit misleading.. by severoon · · Score: 1

      That actually makes sense. It's a shame, really...I had a snarky comment that would make me look superior all lined up. Ye /. gods, why hast thou forsaken me?!?!

      :-)

      --
      but have you considered the following argument: shut up.
  11. Tagging this as "idle"? Really? by carlhaagen · · Score: 1

    Come on... You gotta have a bigger view of the things around you than that.

  12. its a trap! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This reminds me a lot of 'The Game'. In short, it's a mind control device.

  13. Perhaps overkill by NicknamesAreStupid · · Score: 1

    I had this problem and was told by my ENT to (1) sit in the middle of my couch (2) lean to the right till my head touched the arm (3) look up to my left (4) sit up straight (5) lean to the left till my head touched the arm (6) look up to the right (7) sit up straight. Repeat several times. Worked for me.

  14. Um... what now? by KharmaWidow · · Score: 2, Funny

    Doctors are putting a cell phone that causes nearly all my other gadgets to buzz next to the developing brain of a child?

    1. Re:Um... what now? by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Because, were it not for this app, of course children wouldn't do something as dangerous as putting mobile phones to their heads.

      Still, not to worry, you could always wrap the childs head in tin foil first.

    2. Re:Um... what now? by KharmaWidow · · Score: 1

      "children put a cell phone to their heads, themselves"

      Regardless if a child does something, how does that justify what a doctor does?

      If we were to apply the logic of what you just said, you are saying its OK for a doctor to put a child's hand in a light-socket because a child is likely to do it themselves. That's nonsense.

  15. Re:What The Hell Happened To Slashdot? by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    No one would have believed you if ten years ago you posted here that this site would end up becoming nothing more than an Apple fanblog/marketing site.

    What do you expect when most of these stories generate between 200 and 900 posts?

    --

    "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  16. 29 Posts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, you were saying?

    1. Re:29 Posts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you know how to read? Have you graduated High School yet?

  17. Re:What The Hell Happened To Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sounds like you really should call the police about that man standing behind you with the gun to your head forcing you to click and post to every apple story.

    That sounds like the root of all your unhappiness in life.

  18. We invented the damn internet by Alsee · · Score: 3, Funny

    an iPhone app to cure the most common cases of vertigo, which about 300,000 Canadians develop annually.

    I DON'T WANT THIS FUCKING METRIC UNIT CRAP!

    -

    --
    - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  19. $200 iPhone or $0.40 Bonine tablet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meclizine

    I have bad vertigo and when it starts up, one Bonine (Meclizine) will kill the symptoms in only about 5 minutes and usually lasts for the rest of the day. It is also preventative medication that lowers the chance of a bad episode if you are having symptoms recur over a few days.

  20. If only... by matunos · · Score: 1

    ... there was a cure for the brain tumors that result from strapping a cell phone to people's heads. iPod Touch anyone?

  21. Pfft by EEPROMS · · Score: 1

    Im working on an iPhone app that cures bowel cancer, just shove said iPhone up your ass while watching Oprah and the little cancer critters will run away.

  22. Seriously? by joeygirl · · Score: 1

    Is there really any scientific proof on this? There are so many apps that don't work-not too sure about this one. http://www.joeyfortman.com/