Everyone knows how incapacitating and costly a traumatic brain injury can be. Every year in New Mexico, numerous individuals suffer from brain injuries after being involved in a serious accident. Now, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an app that could help in the diagnosis of traumatic brain injury.
The app is called the Defense Automated Neurobehavioral Assessment tool. It is a mobile app that can help medical personnel identify and diagnose instances of traumatic brain injury in just five minutes. Normally, it can take much longer before the diagnosis of a traumatic brain injury can be made.
The app was approved for use by the FDA. According to a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. military, the military hopes to be using the devices in combat situations, deep in the field. According to the lieutenant colonel, the device is something akin to a brain thermometer. In essence, it is something like a video game with tasks that service members have to complete. Based on a patient’s score, clinicians will be able to determine if the serviceman or woman has likely suffered a traumatic brain injury.
It is hoped that this new technology may one day be applied in civilian hospitals like those in New Mexico, in addition to in military environments. For civilians, this advance in technology may prove extremely useful for car accident victims. A victim of a serious accident can greatly benefit from a faster diagnosis, thus increasing the speed of the recovery process.
For now, civilians who have been injured in a serious accident have to rely on current medical diagnostics. They do not, however, have to rely solely on their savings or their family members for financial relief as they recover. They have the right to pursue compensation by filing personal injury claims against the parties whose negligence they believe led to their injuries.
Source: fortcampbellcourier.com, “FDA clears head injury diagnosis app”, Ramin A. Khalili, Dec. 23, 2014
