New Tests For Detecting Traumatic Brain Injury

Experts agree that cognitive rest is the best treatment for mild traumatic brain injury, but how do you know if you suffered a mild TBI, what is commonly called a concussion?

Up until now, doctors, coaches, and patients relied on time-worn clinical observations. When the brain makes contact with the skull during a car accident or other incident resulting in traumatic brain injury (TBI), the shearing of delicate brain axons can occur. These tiny axons are too small to be seen on even the newest 3 Tesla MRI machines.

Various Other Techniques Being Tested

One technique, Diffusion Tensor Imaging can identify biomarkers of mild TBI up to six months post-injury. See our blog post on DTI to learn more about that.

MIT is experimenting with a newer technique, a new rapid test that is based on a technique called quantitative electroencephalography, or QEEG. How quick is it? Results take approximately 20 minutes. That’s QEEG.

University of Rochester Medical Center researchers forego imaging, relying instead on blood tests for TBI detection and diagnosis. They link the presence of a serum protein biomarker called S-100B, which increases rapidly after a traumatic brain injury.

A neurosurgeon from Minneapolis, Dr. Uzma Samadani, has developed an eye motion test that tracks eye movements while the patient is watching a video. So far, the test has had an accuracy rate of 88%; not perfect, but much better than unaided clinical tools.

Blood testing for TBI is used widely in Europe; however, a CT scan is still the gold standard for TBI diagnosis in U.S. hospitals.

Suffering From a TBI After an Accident? Call Our DC Injury Lawyers

Zukerberg & Halperin, PLLC is a Washington, DC based personal injury law firm which assists clients and their families in obtaining justice for injuries suffered through the negligence of others.

Call our DC personal injury attorneys today for a free consultation regarding your case.