Eye-Tracking gadget could help ER doctors spot dangerous causes of dizziness
NCT ID NCT02483429
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether a special eye-tracking device (video-oculography) helps emergency room doctors more accurately diagnose the cause of vertigo or dizziness. About 130 adults with dizziness were randomly assigned to get either the eye-tracking test plus standard care, or standard care alone. The goal was to see if the device could safely and quickly tell apart harmless inner-ear problems from serious conditions like stroke.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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130 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Dec 2017
- Finished
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Mar 2023
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion criteria: Adult (18 years and older) ED patients with all of the following (all determined pre-randomization): * VESTIBULAR SYMPTOMS: presenting symptom of "vertigo" OR "dizziness" OR "unsteadiness" (as defined by consensus expert definitions in the International Classification of Vestibular Disorders). * RELEVANT EXAM SIGNS\*: pathologic nystagmus (spontaneous, gaze-evoked, or positional) by bedside VOG testing OR pathologic ataxia (gait, trunk, stance, limbs) by bedside ataxia examination. * RECENT ONSET: symptoms AND signs\* appear to be new or markedly worse in the past month. (\*Exam signs are required for randomization, but not for the observational arm) Exclusion Criteria 1. Excluded from Pre-Randomization Screening * Level 1 trauma or critical illness * Altered mental status (e.g., delirium, dementia) that would preclude active study participation (this includes patients with abnormal mental state due to alcohol intoxication or illicit substance, which are known, easily-recognized causes of dizziness or vertigo presentations to the ED) * Non-English speaking (enrollment of non-English speakers is not feasible given the logistics of identifying a translator and the need for rapid recruitment and randomization in the AVERT study; furthermore, the terms vertigo, dizziness, and unsteadiness may have different meanings in other languages) * Known pregnancy (all women of childbearing age who are enrolled will undergo a urine or serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin \[hCG\] pregnancy test prior to MRI to confirm no pregnancy, per local institutional guidelines) * Unable or unsafe to participate in screening, including VOG tests (as deemed by specific pre-enrollment risk assessment questions or ED provider and/or Study Coordinator judgment) including, but not limited to: * visual impairment sufficient to prevent visual fixation during the VOG testing * clinically-perceived risk to patient of participating in study (ED provider or staff concerns) * clinically-perceived risk to research staff (e.g., violence, blood/body fluid/respiratory precautions) * unstable cardiac status (given a single reported case of bradycardia with impulse testing) * acute cranio-cervical trauma or other condition (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis) that might lead to instability of the cervical spine that would be a contraindication to neck rotation during VOG testing * Obvious general medical cause (as judged by treating ED provider) including, but not limited to, acute myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolus, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, drug intoxication, etc. 2. Excluded from Randomization (Eligible for Observational Arm Follow-up) * Patient previously randomized in the AVERT Trial (previously screened but not randomized are eligible) * Unable to participate fully with study follow-up (particularly MRI) including, but not limited to: * unable to return for follow-up testing within 30 days * unable to undergo MRI because of contraindications (e.g., pacemaker, metallic foreign body, pregnancy) or other reasons (severe claustrophobia, too large or too heavy for MRI scanner)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Johns Hopkins Hospital - Bayview
Baltimore, Maryland, 21224, United States
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Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States
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Mt. Sinai Medical Center
New York, New York, 10029, United States
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University of Illinois
Peoria, Illinois, 61656, United States
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University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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