HYPOTHETICAL FEASIBILITY OF USING STRESS BIOMETRICS IN STUDENTS WITH CORTICAL VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) is resultant from neurological injury and damage to visual pathways or vision centers in the brain. CVI is sometimes undiagnosed in individuals with brain injuries due to the complexity of the human visual system. The International Institute for the Brain (iBrain) is a specialized school for students ages 5 to 21 who have a brain disorder or an acquired brain injury. They often present with noticeable CVI. While there are various metrics and interventions for the pediatric population, the adequacy has been lacking in terms of the vulnerability of this non-verbal population. Assessing the safety and effectiveness of rehabilitative interventions for this fragile student population can be challenging as most traditional metrics cannot be used. In this methodological review paper, available metrics were investigated and their applicability for this specific population is discussed with the end goal of identifying the best metrics that could be used to determine treatment effectiveness and providing a way for monitoring adverse effects. Combining pulse oximetry, cortisol response sensor, and galvanic skin response as biometrics theoretically offers a comprehensive assessment of autonomic activity and responses and establishes objective measures to identify treatment outcomes and adverse reactions. However, future experimental studies are needed to verify if the proposed protocol is feasible and if it is well tolerated by the iBrain students before it can be implemented to monitor adverse reaction to intervention and as a potential treatment outcome measure for children affected by CVI.