Assessing the Accuracy and Reliability of a Low-Cost Virtual Reality Headset versus a Goniometer for Measuring Cervical Range of Motion

Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is one of the prevalent reasons for neck pain, stiffness and mobility issues. Neck pain is assessed by trained clinicians using a goniometer to measure the angular motion of the neck in three planes. The process requires understanding complex anatomy-associated movements to collect accurate results; further unnatural movement of the routine can result in poor compliance. Hence, there is a need for a low-cost, home-based portable measurement system that engages sufferers to measure changes in neck mobility between clinical visits. Virtual Reality (VR) systems have been used in the treatment of various mental health and physiological diseases. In this study, 25 participants were tested with a novel VR system to measure and record various neck rotations in real time. The current state-of-the-art measurement system for axSpA was used for accuracy and reliability comparisons. Results showed a strong positive correlation (r = .97-.99) between data recorded from the VR and the goniometer, for all activities. While further analyses are required, results indicate that the VR application is sufficiently accurate and reliable in measuring neck movement and can be further developed as a low-cost objective measurement device for neck rehabilitation.