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Portable Tool Identifies Brain Injury On The Spot
Time is of the utmost importance when diagnosing brain injury and concussions, yet until now, there have been few objective ways to identify these conditions besides asking the patient a set of questions, and gauging their motor skills.
Now, Mashable reports that Infrascan, with assistance from MIT and the U.S. Marine Corps, have created a small portable device that can detect bleeding in the brain at the site of an injury.
The remote control shaped wand is held against a person’s head, where it measures responses to Near-Infrared light to detect hemorrhaging in the brain. Normally the brain absorbs the light equally across al eight quadrants of the brain measured by the tool, but in the case of bleeding within the brain, the light is more absorbed by the brain, which is noted by the tool.
There was a previous version called the Infrascanner Model 1000 that used the same technology, but was less portable or durable than the new Model 2000. The Infrascanner Model 2000 has already been approved by the FDA for both military and civilian use, and is intended for quick diagnosis and monitoring of those with brain injury, but is not considered a replacement for brain scans such as CT Scans or MRIs by a professional.
This Infra scanner will be very useful in detecting the brain injury exact report which will help in exact treatment for the brain injury.
Portable devices of any kind are faced with durability and sensitivity issues. How rugged is this new device?
Calibration and accuracy would also be concerns for receiving physicians and surgeons. How reliable are the readings obtained in the field and combat environments?
Efforts to diagnose TBI’s in the field provides critical data early in the impact cycle.