Monday, January 2, 2012

New tech to detect TBI

Another new piece of technology is being talked about that may help diagnose serious head injuries.  This new device detects hematomas in the skull as a result of a head injury.  Subdural hematomas, by definition, are classified as moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries.  These are not mild TBIs, commonly referred to a s concussions. 


Mild TBIs are more insidious and involve the process of calcium and potassium ions crossing the cell membranes and causing an energy crisis in the brain.  There is no bleeding to speak of in an mTBI.  Therefore, it must be made clear that this new piece of technology, while it may prove useful, will not rule out mTBIs.  This must be very carefully explained each and every time this piece of technology is purchased and used to test for a head injury.  Otherwise, it will have the same problems that CT scans and MRIs do when emergency room staff erroneously tell a victim of an mTBI that they are fine because the test came back negative.

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