Vertical Linear Accelerator for Dynamic Visual-Vestibular Acuity Health Status Evaluation and Desensitization Training

Military platforms expose personnel to extreme vertical vibrations. These vibrations can induce visual-vestibular disturbance or even permanent injury, resulting in spatial-disorientation-related mishaps or decreased performance due to motion-sickness. ANCO Engineers, Inc. proposes to investigate the feasibility of a human-rated, computer-controlled, innovative Vertical Linear Accelerator (VLA) with chair-mounted Visual Acuity Projection System (VAPS), to be used to assess visual acuity during vibration which simulates field conditions. A VAPS will be prototyped, hardened, and tested with an existing motion device. The effectiveness of the acuity-testing protocol in providing a more systematic and sensitive health status evaluation will be determined. There is evidence that repeated exposures to vertical linear motion, such as that which will be produced by the VLA being delineated in Phase I, can be used as a desensitization tool for a chronically motion-sick aircrew. A preliminary protocol for rehabilitation by desensitization will be evaluated. ANCO has provided vibration devices to the military and private industry for 34 years. The potential private-sector market for the VLA/VAPS is large; in the government sector, any DoD component deploying platforms which induce the visual-vestibular effect has a potential interest in this device.