Validation of MobileMe – a psychophysiological recording system – from a motion sickness perspective

Motion sickness, a generic term including for example car sickness, sea sickness and space sickness, is a condition that occurs when the human body is exposed to movements that do not match the perceived sense of balance. Drugs that restrain motion sickness exist, but they often cause drowsiness and are therefore not suitable for usage in military and civil professional fields. Prevention of motion sickness without affecting mental capacity is highly wanted, since risks for accidents in the transport industry and deterioration of soldier performance could be reduced. Research has shown that changes in certain physiological variables, for example heart rate, can reveal early stages of motion sickness prior to perception of any motion sickness symptoms. Mechanisms behind motion sickness, such as causes and how it develops, can be examined by studying these particular physiological variables. Different methods and equipments for measuring these variables exist, for example a newly developed portable system, MobileMe (BioSentient ® Inc, Houston, USA). However, if MobileMe is to be used in medical research, a validation, i.e. an examination of whether the equipment measures what it is intended to measure, should be performed. This thesis includes a validation of the MobileMe system, divided into two parts. First a laboratory study, including four subjects exposed to different conditions, was conducted. Simultaneous measurements with MobileMe and a reference equipment produced data used as input for statistical analysis. Results of the analysis showed that MobileMe could be considered valid in controlled environments, and this result was used as basis for a field study, where the suitability of the equipment for usage in tougher environments was examined. The field study was conducted onboard a combat boat and included six subjects. Apart from the examination of the MobileMe system, motion sickness symptoms and different rating scales were examined during the field study. Results from the two studies showed that MobileMe was valid, and suitable for usage in field studies. The laboratory study showed that the measurements produced by the equipment were correct, and the field study proved durability of MobileMe in tougher environments. As a consequence, MobileMe will be used by the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) for motion sickness studies, and by the Faculty of There are a number of people that have helped us during our work with this thesis. First, we would like to thank our examiner, Göran Salerud, for introducing this particular thesis proposal to us. Torbjörn …