ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Healthcare Professions Education
This article is part of the Research TopicTransform Medicine through Extended Reality (XR): Technologies, Education, Ethics, and Clinical ApplicationsView all 6 articles
Design and Preliminary Evaluation of a VR-Based Optokinetic Stimuli System for Vestibular Rehabilitation: Insights from Clinical End Users
Provisionally accepted
- 1Ochsner Health, New Orleans, United States
- 2UQ-Ochsner Clinical School, New Orleans, United States
- 3US Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration, Washington, United States
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Background: Vestibular therapy is essential for treating dizziness and balance disorders. There is growing evidence supporting the benefits of incorporating Virtual Reality (VR) into vestibular therapies. Objective: To gather feedback from neuro-rehabilitation specialists on an optokinetic virtual environment (OVE). Methods: An OVE modeled after the traditional optokinetic drum was developed for commercially available VR headsets and tested by practicing vestibular therapists. Participants completed a Likert-based survey and semi-structured interviews to assess their perceptions of the OVE. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Results: Ten therapists with an average of nine years of clinical experience (range: 3-15 years) participated from October 2024 to March 2025. The likelihood of using the OVE in clinical practice was rated highly, with Likert scores ranging from 6 to10 (median=9), where 10 indicated a high likelihood. Five key themes emerged for potential improvements: (1) Clinical Usability and Setup, (2) Control and Customization, (3) Immersive Design and Realism, (4) Output and Measurement Preferences, and (5) Implementation Barriers. Conclusion: Vestibular rehabilitation clinicians expressed strong interest in utilizing VR-based optokinetic stimuli. Feedback from this study will inform iterative, user-focused application improvements. Future studies will test the improved OVE with patients to evaluate tolerance, eTicacy, and usability.
Keywords: Medical Extended Reality (MXR), Neurology, Physical Therapy, vestibular, Virtual Reality
Received: 12 Dec 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Sarkar, Delpy, Skelton, Slayden and Villemarette-Pittman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Korak Sarkar
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