We are pleased to announce that our VR therapy system CUREO has been successfully tested under hypoxia conditions at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in the areas of motor function, cognition and respiration. Remarkably, oxygen saturation could be increased by up to 14% under aggravated hypoxia conditions using a breathing exercise. The duration of breathing was indicated by a ball that expanded and contracted. This prompted the participants to inhale and exhale over a defined period of time.
The VR therapy system CUREO was further tested at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine of DLR after a successful presentation workshop in September this year. Under the direction of the cardiovascular department (Prof. Jens Tank) and the study team (Dr. Laura de Boni), participants were able to use the system under hypoxia conditions and normal atmosphere. Testing under hypoxia was performed at an oxygen concentration of 9.5%, to which participants were adapted. The oxygen concentration of 9.5% corresponds to an altitude equivalent of 6150m. For comparison, this is approximately the altitude of the west peak of Mount Lobuche at 6145 m in the Himalayas, Nepal.
Copyright: DLR and CUREosity GmbH. Participants during the tests under hypoxia conditions.
The sum score for the motor skills of 4 participants who performed a defined number of tests in the motor skills domain (meteor, taiko) is shown in Figures 1 and 2. For the Taiko task, participants had to "smash" fast approaching objects with pinpoint accuracy on five drums distributed in the room. This requires excellent reaction and coordination of the left and right upper extremities. Therefore, it is not only a pure motor skills test, but also a speed test. This also applies to Meteor, in which objects fly quickly towards the participant on a curved path and have to be "caught".
Copyright: DLR and CUREosity GmbH. Participants during the tests under hypoxia conditions.
Motor skills were slightly better under normal atmosphere than under hypoxia conditions. Accordingly, the participants did not show significant limitations in their motor skills under hypoxia conditions, which can be explained by the excellent adaptation in advance.
Figure 1
Sum scores of motor skills for the left and right upper extremities of 2 participants under normal atmosphere (O2 21%) and under hypoxia conditions (O2 9.5%). Shown are the sum scores for the abilities strength, skills, agility, and range of motion.
Figure 2
Sum scores of motor skills for the left and right upper extremities of 2 participants under normal atmosphere (O2 21%) and under hypoxia conditions (O2 9.5%). Shown are the sum scores for the abilities strength, skills, agility, and range of motion.
Figures 3 and 4 show the individual tests in the area of motor skills (Taiko and Meteor).
Figure 3
Upper extremity motor skill scores (Taiko) of 4 participants under normal atmosphere (O2 21%) and hypoxia conditions (O2 9.5%). The difficulty level was 89.
Example: Taiko
Figure 4
Motor skill scores (Meteor) for the upper extremity of 4 participants under normal atmosphere (O2 21%) and under hypoxia conditions (O2 9.5%). The difficulty level was 82-83.
The memory tests were more difficult for participants to perform in normal atmosphere and under hypoxia due to the visual display with visual field restriction. In addition, the difficulty of the tests was automatically adjusted depending on how well the participant performed in the test before. This means that the cognitive tests were always set more difficult or also automatically easier by the software depending on how the test was mastered before. Three participants were able to perform the tasks well and achieved very good results under hypoxia and normal atmosphere (Figure 5). One participant had difficulties in the initial testing under hypoxia conditions at the beginning, which is why his result was worse under hypoxia (participant 1, Figure 5).
Figure 5
The participants also used a task from the relaxation area to control their breathing. This involved visually inflating a ball over and over again and then deflating it again.
The participants had to breathe in deeper and longer than normal due to the selected settings. This led to a significant increase in blood oxygen concentration (up to 14 %), which was measured by pulse oximetry, so that oxygen saturations of over 90 % were achieved in three participants.
Participants were instructed to perform daily breathing exercises under hypoxia, so guidance and monitoring via VR here could provide support in future hypoxia studies.
Overall, the participants found the tests to be exciting, varied and appealing. The VR tests were a welcome change from the common motor and cognition tests conducted as part of other studies at DLR.
We are excited about our continued collaboration with DLR to improve medical care in space and on Earth.
DLR at a glance
DLR is the Federal Republic of Germany's research center for aeronautics and space. We conduct research and development in aeronautics, space, energy and transport, security and digitization. The German Space Agency at DLR is responsible for planning and implementing German space activities on behalf of the Federal Government. Two DLR project management agencies oversee funding programs and support knowledge transfer.
Cf. and further info: https://www.dlr.de/DE/organisation-dlr/das-dlr/dlr-im-ueberblick.html
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