Ossining Student Uses VR to Show Concussions' Long-Term Impact

Ossining High School student Giovanni Santucci was surprised to find in a national survey of secondary school students that about 20 percent reported having at least one concussion.

He became alarmed when some of his Ossining peers told him they had suffered one, two, three or even four concussions as athletes. He found through additional research that people who have had concussions are at greater risk for experiencing them in the future.

“I was wondering why are they so relaxed about it? Why do they have such a calm demeanor?” he said. “I wanted to look into it more, and I investigated what happens when someone has a concussive injury.”

On May 17, he was one of 22 Best of Category winners at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix. That means he was the top student in the world in behavioral and social sciences for his project.

Giovanni, 18, said he could not believe he won. When the announcer called his name, he ducked behind other first-place winners on stage to collect himself before walking out to receive the award.

Valerie Holmes, who co-teaches the Science Research Program with Angelo Piccirillo, said OHS students have been first-place winners before, but Giovanni is the only Best of Category award-winner. In addition to receiving $3,000 for first place and $5,000 for Best of Category, OHS and the Westchester Science and Engineering Fair will receive $1,000 each. Giovanni also received a Certificate of Honorable Mention from the American Psychological Association.

“For us, this is an incredibly big deal,” Ms. Holmes said. “Giovanni made history for our program. He just wrote history. You’re a legend forever now.”

More than 1,800 young scientists from around the world competed in ISEF, which is organized by the Society for Science & the Public. Two other students in the Science Research Program earned fourth-place awards and $500.

Kellen Cooks researched patterns of graffiti disapproval in New York City. Using ArcGIS interactive mapping and behavioral science, he revealed how urban planners can capitalize on people’s opinions to spur city revitalization and economic growth.

Maggie Ford conducted groundbreaking research in cellular biology that advances understanding of the complex immune mechanisms that drive the pathology of ankylosing spondylitis, a type of back arthritis.

Many other students in the prestigious Science Research Program excelled in competitions this year.

Giovanni’s cutting-edge research shows that virtual reality headsets can advance the ability to track how concussions affect proprioception – the perception or awareness of the body’s position and movement. He found that the lingering effects of concussions can put people at risk for secondary concussions.

Giovanni’s mentor was Dr. Anat Lubetzky, an assistant professor and the principal investigator at New York University’s Physical Therapy Sensorimotor Lab. She uses VR technology to research and treat vestibular disorders, in which the parts of the brain and inner ear that regulate balance and eye movements are damaged.

Giovanni used the technology to measure the long-term impacts of concussions, which can affect the parietal lobe. This part of the brain integrates all the senses, giving people the ability to tell where they are. It then processes the information so they can have accurate motor output. If there is a problem with processing, motor output might not be correct, he said.

Dr. Lubetzky spent two days at OHS with Giovanni to test 26 students – a mix of people who had and had not suffered concussions. They used a small virtual reality headset, a camera for optical tracking and a pressure plate to measure test-takers’ balance.

They used two VR scenarios – one was a star scene with moving dots and the other was a field with a cannon shooting balls. The star scene isolates the person’s visual dependence. While small movements back and forward are the norm in that scenario, people with deficits due to concussions had a wide variation in head movement and were moving in a circular pattern.

“Their motor output might not be 100% correct because their visual dependence doesn’t have enough cues around them and they’re not going to be able to use all of their proprioception to tell where they are,” he said.

In the cannon scenario, students with concussions had little to no head variation and a low degree of postural sway. The data told him they were not moving as fast as they should to avoid the balls, making them more vulnerable to future concussions.

Giovanni emphasized that this type of deficit in the parietal lobe is minor and really only visible with the VR headset. “Before this test, these students would have never known they had a deficit,” he said.

He believes it is superior to traditional post-concussion computer testing, during which people go through a series of balancing exercises. If people are athletic and good at balancing, they can use muscle memory to do well. With the VR star scene, that is not possible. “It’s just you and the moment,” he said.

Giovanni, who has played soccer and golf at OHS, said he is hoping to build awareness about the long-term effects of concussions. The test could be used as a tool for pre-concussive testing to get a baseline, and to evaluate someone who wants to return to activity.

“By no means am I trying to say, ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that,’ he said. “What I’m trying to say is you should have some type of awareness and know that these three or four concussions that everyone’s talking of nonchalantly, you should be a little worried about them because they can really influence you later on in life.”

He and Dr. Lubetzky are trying to recruit more students to continue the study.

Dr. Lubetzky, who had never mentored an OHS student before, said she is impressed by Giovanni’s research and thrilled with his success. He did so well because he is open to learning, doesn’t fear having to change things, and is naturally curious. “He’s just such a smart, diligent kid,” she said.

Giovanni will start a five-year master’s degree program in biomechanical engineering this fall at Western New England University. While he can do many things with the degree, his passion is using technology to help people.

“I would love to be able to change something that we have now and make it better for somebody, or even invent something,” he said.

Giovanni said he is grateful to his incredible science teachers at OHS, including Mr. Piccirillo, Ms. Holmes, earth science teacher Kathy Amentas, and science and engineering teacher Douglas Albrecht, who is also an adviser to the Engineering Club. Giovanni is the head mechanic for the club’s successful O-Bots robotics team.

Giovanni said he has learned that science is a series of obstacles that you tackle one by one. “As many challenges as you have and as many difficulties that you may have, there’s always some way to get around it and work through it,” he said. “So this program really instilled the type of work ethic that I’m going to carry for the rest of my life.”

Another perk of Giovanni’s award is an asteroid will be named after him. “I think that’s the coolest thing ever. There will be a Giovanni Santucci planet,” Ms. Holmes said. “Potentially it’s an asteroid, but they’ll only attach your name to an asteroid that will not collide with Earth.”