The Barany chair or Bárány chair is a device used for
aerospace physiology
Aerospace physiology is the study of the effects of high altitudes on the body, such as different pressures and levels of oxygen. At different altitudes the body may react in different ways, provoking more cardiac output, and producing more eryth ...
training, particularly for student
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
s.
Test
The subject is placed in the chair, blindfolded, then spun about the
vertical axis
A Cartesian coordinate system (, ) in a plane (geometry), plane is a coordinate system that specifies each point (geometry), point uniquely by a pair of number, numerical coordinates, which are the positive and negative numbers, signed distance ...
while keeping their head upright or tilted forward or to the side. The subject is then asked to perform tasks such as determine their direction of rotation while blindfolded, or rapidly change the orientation of their head, or attempt to point at a stationary object without blindfold after the chair is stopped. The chair is used to demonstrate
spatial disorientation effects, proving that the
vestibular system
The vestibular system, in vertebrates, is a sensory system that creates the sense of balance and spatial orientation for the purpose of coordinating movement with balance. Together with the cochlea, a part of the auditory system, it constitutes ...
is not to be trusted in flight. Pilots are taught that they should instead rely on their
flight instruments
Flight instruments are the instruments in the cockpit of an aircraft that provide the pilot with data about the flight situation of that aircraft, such as altitude, airspeed, vertical speed, heading and much more other crucial information in fli ...
.
Uses
The device is also used in
motion sickness
Motion sickness occurs due to a difference between actual and expected motion. Symptoms commonly include nausea, vomiting, cold sweat, headache, dizziness, tiredness, loss of appetite, and increased salivation. Complications may rarely include d ...
therapy.
Nobel Prize
The chair was named for Hungarian physiologist
Robert Bárány, who used this device in his research into the role of the
inner ear
The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates, the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. In mammals, it consists of the bony labyrinth, a hollow cavity in the ...
in the sense of balance. This won him the 1914
Nobel prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
in Physiology or Medicine.
See also
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Swivel chair
References
Aviation educators
Flight training
Medical equipment
Motion sickness
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