University of Virginia researchers are creating a hand-held ultrasound machine that can be taken to the battlefield to early diagnose soldiers with traumatic brain injury (TBI).
By John Cooper, VA Brain and Head Injury Attorney
A TBI is a traumatically induced structural injury or disruption of brain function caused by an external force, and usually results from car crashes, drowning, and slip and falls. Funded by $6 million in grants from the Department of Defense, University of Virginia researchers are creating a hand-held ultrasound machine that can be taken to the battlefield to early diagnose soldiers with TBI, according to Apria Healthcare.
Since 2000, according to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center in Washington, 202,281 service members have been diagnosed as having some form of TBI. The University of Virginia technology would let a combat medic pull someone off the field to check them for traumatic brain injury.
This TBI research project involves developing probes to look at the brain at a cellular level and determine at a cellular level whether someone has TBI. Currently, the standard methods for detecting TBI are through magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography scans.
The UVA research could determine brain tissue stiffness links to brain injuries and whether ultrasound technology can be used to detect tissue stiffness. The researchers are studying medical scans of soldiers who come into contact with high-impact blasts.
Treatment of TBI is on a case-by-case basis. The UVA research should hopefully prompt brain injury professionals to study ways to treat TBI for those who suffer brain damage from car wrecks, slip and falls and other accidents. If you or a loved one suffer TBI resulting from an accident, you may need the assistance of Virginia personal injury lawyers to recover justice against the responsible parties.
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About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling traumatic brain injury and general head injury cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). Our attorneys achieved the largest verdict in Virginia’s history for a brain-damaged client in 2000. The initial award of $46 million rose to $60 million with interest when an appeal was settled confidentially. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury lawyers also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. While not every brain injury case meets our criteria, if you or a loved one is thinking about taking legal action against a possibly at-fault person or company that caused your injury, call our office at (800) 752-0042 for a free consultation. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, be sure to leave a voicemail. We will return your call.