Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT)
The psychomotor vigilance task is a brief, portable electronic visual reaction time task sensitive to fatigue / sleepiness / tiredness. The test consists of responding to a small bright LED digital counter, by pushing a button, as soon as the stimulus appears.
Human reaction time is used by psychologists and physiologists as an index of impairment. Continuous reaction time performance over a relatively short time period can reveal impairment caused by fatigue, drugs and medical conditions.
The psychomotor vigilance task is a test of behavioural alertness. It involves a simple reaction time test designed to evaluate the ability to sustain attention and respond in a timely manner to salient and critical signals. The psychomotor vigilance task performance has been demonstrated to be highly sensitive to behavioural alertness associated with:
- Total sleep deprivation
- Cumulative partial sleep loss
- Excessive sleepiness from sleep apnoea
- Shift work
- Jetlag in transoceanic pilots
- On-call demands of medical staff
- Medical conditions, current medications, and illicit drugs.
Examples of its Applications
- 48 year old plant operator with leukemia on multiple medications (10+) is he fit to drive?
- 30yr old Oil Rig worker with depression recently started on medication. Is he fit to perform safety critical work?
- 24yr old dump truck driver fell asleep whilst truck being loaded.
- 65yr old commercial vehicle operator appears inattentive and forgetful.
For more information contact Michael Foote, Exercise Physiologist at The Health Advantage:
[email protected]