Technology Aids in the Assessment of Head Injury

A new device under development represents a significant advancement in the early identification and assessment of patients with concussion and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

The Ahead EU-100 is a portable, noninvasive, point of care (POC), non-radiation-emitting medical device that utilizes product miniaturization and advanced signal processing methods to provide an objective assessment and categorization of brain electrical activity associated with brain injury, identifying patterns consistent with a traumatically induced structural brain injury and clinical manifestations of functional TBI. The system consists of three main components: a hand-held device that includes software and algorithms for electroencephalogram (EEG) acquisition and analysis and patient stratification, a disposable electrode headset, and a web-based capability for centralized storage and review of patient data.


The application of advanced mathematics and miniaturized hardware is designed to bridge the limitations of traditional EEG tools--which are bulky, expensive, need expert data interpretation--to provide easy-to-use, noninvasive, timely, front-line tools that can assist with an initial assessment of brain function as well as provide adjunctive assessment across the brain care path. The device will initially be focused on TBI in military settings, with future uses intended for sports and emergency medicine environments. The Ahead EU-100 is under development by Brainscope (Bethesda, MD, USA).

"We have been fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with top UK hospitals and renowned clinical and scientific thought leaders to conduct our UK-based research,” said Michael Singer, CEO of BrainScope.” With approximately one million people each year attending the accident and emergency department in the UK following head injuries, we believe that the commercialization of this product in the UK will provide a valuable tool for clinicians in making informed decisions for triage, treatment and care of patients with suspected head injuries."

The technology is based on the premise that the brain is an organ with function exhibited primarily by electrical activity. All of the brain's activity, whether reflexive, automatic, unconscious, or conscious, is electro-chemical in nature, and has mathematically predictable electrical correlates. Through a series of electro-chemical reactions, mediated by neurotransmitters, electrical potentials are generated and transmitted throughout the brain, traveling continuously between and among the myriad of neurons. This activity establishes the basic electrical signatures of the traditional EEG and creates identifiable frequencies, which have a clear basis in structure and function, and change predictably as a function of age. Quantifying these features serves as a signature for both normal and abnormal brain function, and specifically for identification of TBI.

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