Reliability and validity of a virtual reality-based measurement of simple reaction time: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Abstract Background Reaction time (RT) is an important dependent variable to assess components of cognitive function. Thus, it has been a valuable parameter for research and clinical evaluation. A head-mounted display for virtual reality (HMD-VR) provides a standardized external visual condition and could be a promising tool for measuring RT. The purpose of this study is to establish the feasibility, reliability, and validity of HMD-VR-based software in evaluating simple RT (SRT). Methods Thirty healthy participants volunteered for the study. A SRT test was created by VIVE ProEye (HTC, Inc.). The participants responded with a keyboard when a square target was used in random intervals for 100 trials. To determine the optimal test repetition, the difference between the SRTS calculated with different trial numbers was analyzed. The one-week reliability of the median SRT was evaluated with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Finally, the convergent validity was tested by computing the correlation coefficient with a personal computer-based (PC-based) software, RehaComÒ (HASOMED, Inc.) with a similar task design. Results The median SRTs of the virtual reality-based (VR-based) and computer-based systems were 326.0 and 319.5 ms, respectively. Significantly longer RT obtained by the VR-based method was observed in the last 25-trial block for the non-dominant hand and bilateral hands according to Friedman’s test. The ICC was 0.71 (p<0.001), indicating good test-retest reliability. There was a high correlation (r=0.85~0.89) and good agreement between the VR-based and PC-based tests, with the VR-based SRT being 9-10 ms longer than the PC-based SRT according to Bland–Altman plots. Conclusions Our results supported the good reliability and high convergent validity of this HMD-VR-based RT testing. A test length of 50 trials was suggested to avoid possible decremental performance while maintaining good reliability. The program can be applied in future studies when spatial-specific RT is the main interest to provide a standardized external environment.