Patent ID: 7691073

Claim:
An apparatus for stimulating otolith organs in a subject by linear acceleration, said apparatus comprising: (a) a base section with a source of linear acceleration; (b) a revolving section supported by the base section, said revolving section is slidably mounted on the base section and is coupled to the source of linear acceleration and is adapted to carry out reciprocal movements under action of the source of linear acceleration; (c) a tilting section supported by the revolving section to tilt from a head of the subject on one side down from the head's horizontal plane in a Reid stereotaxic coordinate system, wherein said tilting section includes a rotary main shaft, a pair of transmission gearing mechanisms cooperating with the rotary main shaft by way of gear mount plates, a handle for operating the transmission gearing mechanisms, and a mechanism to rotate the rotary main shaft by way of the transmission gearing mechanisms to a desired angular position using the handle in locking or unlocking position at the desired angular position; (d) a seat section supported by the tilting section; and (e) a restraining section, on the seat section, said restraining section includes an occipital region retainer and a temple retainer that are adjustable in an upward and downward direction and/or in a forward and backward direction, to restrain the subject with respect to the seat section; wherein said tilting section is configured to orient a subject's head relative to the source of linear acceleration such that different linear accelerations can be applied to left and right otolith organs, respectively, of the subject.