{"id":25946,"date":"2018-08-09T14:17:04","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T18:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=25946"},"modified":"2022-03-16T10:34:24","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T14:34:24","slug":"device-detects-concussions-with-drop-of-blood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/device-detects-concussions-with-drop-of-blood\/","title":{"rendered":"Device Detects Concussions with Only a Drop of Blood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have developed a blood test that can detect mild traumatic brain injuries<\/a> (mTBI), commonly called concussions, on the spot and within minutes.<\/p>\n

Requiring only a single drop of blood, the device analyses the level of proteins in the blood to check for concussion.<\/p>\n

The news follows the recent development of the first diagnostic blood test for concussions, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new device, a Point-of-Care-Test (POCT) named TBIcheck, is portable and doesn\u2019t require a doctor to use.<\/p>\n

Every year, approximately 2.8 million people<\/a> are diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries in the U.S., which can vary from mild to severe.<\/p>\n

Repetitive brain trauma can lead to the development of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy<\/a> (CTE), a degenerative brain disease in which a protein called Tau spreads throughout the brain, killing brain cells and affecting mood and behavior.<\/p>\n

CTE is notably common in athletes, who are regularly subject to head collisions.<\/p>\n

Over 300,000 children, age 19 or younger, are hospitalized annually due to head injuries sustained while playing sports.<\/p>\n

In these cases, early, accurate and on-the-spot concussion diagnosis is particularly important.<\/p>\n

It is easy to imagine the TBIcheck being put to use on the sidelines of professional and peewee games alike, ensuring that athletes who have sustained brain injuries don\u2019t return to play.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wondered if it was possible to isolate certain proteins whose presence in the blood increases in the event of a mild traumatic brain injury,\u201d Jean-Charles Sanchez<\/a>, an associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine of Specialties and the Biomarkers Centre of the Faculty of Medicine of the UNIGE, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur idea was to find a way to do a quick examination that would allow, during a boxing or American football match for example, to determine whether the athlete can return to the field or if his condition requires hospitalization.\u201d<\/p>\n

TBIcheck works by analyzing the blood levels of a protein — H-FABP — that is found in the blood in higher doses after a brain injury.<\/p>\n

When a brain injury occurs, damaged brain cells release the protein into the blood.<\/p>\n

The researchers identified four molecules found in higher levels after a brain injury through a proteomic analysis, a test that analyses thousands of proteins and observes variations in their blood levels.<\/p>\n

They found that H-FABP levels can indicate that there is no risk of trauma in as many as one-third of patients admitted after a shock.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe first performed proteomics on different human body fluids and tissues to discover potential brain injury biomarkers,\u201d said Sanchez.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese were then verified and validated by ELISA [enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, a test that uses antibodies and color change to identify a particular substance] and finally the best markers translated to a POCT.\u201d<\/p>\n

The design for TBIcheck was inspired by pregnancy testing.<\/p>\n

To use, a single drop of blood is placed on the well of the device.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Image: UNIGE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In cases where a brain injury is detected, a line appears, signaling the patient to go to the hospital for a CT scan. If no line appears, the patient is safe.<\/p>\n

If there is any confusion about the result, a small reader called the Cube Reader can be installed on the TBIcheck, which will display the word \u201cpositive\u201d or \u201cnegative\u201d and send the result to the patient\u2019s smartphone.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Sanchez described the test as \u201cthe opposite of a CT scan, an exam that lasts a long time and cannot be done anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

With TBIcheck, people with suspected head trauma can be tested for mild traumatic brain injury without having to go through a CT scan, which are not only untimely and expensive but expose the brain to potentially harmful radiation.<\/p>\n

Approximately 90 percent of people who go to emergency rooms with suspected brain trauma return negative CT scans.<\/p>\n

While TBIcheck could help reduce some of these wasteful trips, it will not fully replace CT scans, according to Sanchez.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are complementary, as some negative CT scan patients could have a small brain lesion and some positive TBIcheck patients may not have a brain lesion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In December 2017, the researchers were awarded the Prix de l\u2019Innovation Academy (the Innovation Academy Award) for the TBIcheck.<\/p>\n

They have already patented the device and are in the process of developing an even more accurate test that analyses the blood levels of H-FABP as well as GFAP, another protein found in higher levels after brain injuries.<\/p>\n

Sanchez and his team are also preparing the TBIcheck for commercial release.<\/p>\n

ABCDx, a start-up founded four years ago by Sanchez and Joan Montaner of Vall d\u2019Hebron Hospital in Barcelona, a co-author of the study, will bring the device to the market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have developed a blood test that can detect mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI), commonly called concussions, on the spot and within minutes. Requiring only a single drop of blood, the device analyses the level of proteins in the blood to check for concussion. The news follows the recent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":25951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[626,620,232,241,230,229],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artificial-intelligence","category-body","category-technology","category-medical-breakthrough","category-news","category-lead-stories"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/the-ball-stadion-football-the-pitch-39362.jpeg",830,533,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/the-ball-stadion-football-the-pitch-39362-224x144.jpeg",224,144,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/the-ball-stadion-football-the-pitch-39362-300x193.jpeg",300,193,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/the-ball-stadion-football-the-pitch-39362.jpeg",830,533,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/the-ball-stadion-football-the-pitch-39362.jpeg",830,533,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/the-ball-stadion-football-the-pitch-39362.jpeg",830,533,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/the-ball-stadion-football-the-pitch-39362.jpeg",830,533,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Sam Benezra","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/author\/sam-benezra\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have developed a blood test that can detect mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI), commonly called concussions, on the spot and within minutes. Requiring only a single drop of blood, the device analyses the level of proteins in the blood to check for concussion. The news follows the recent…","featured_media_src_url":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/the-ball-stadion-football-the-pitch-39362.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}