About three million people in the United States suffer concussions each year, many of whom live in New Mexico. A concussion, which is a type of traumatic brain injury, can occur after a person experiences a sudden blow to the head or body. This type of serious injury may cause physical and emotional problems. Determining whether someone has a concussion can be difficult, but a potentially promising device has been developed with the goal of eliminating the guesswork.
The device, which is portable, was developed by a company known as Brain Injury Research Strategies Inc. The unit delivers a concussion assessment that lasts five minutes. This device helps to measure a person’s neurocognitive health through the use of eye-tracking movement. People with brain injuries have eye movement that is slower and not as controlled as those of people without brain injuries.
The device is different from many existing concussion tests, which rely on people to subjectively describe the symptoms they are experiencing. This unit could be used by doctors to determine how much a brain injury patient has healed over time. Although the device is not a tool that can be used for diagnosis, it is an essential piece of the concussion management puzzle.
When people in New Mexico suffer serious injury to the brain, their quality of life can take a turn for the worse. They may struggle to concentrate, or they may easily become emotional or have a more difficult time sleeping. If a brain injury was caused by the negligence of another party, the injured victim has the legal right to seek financial accountability by pursuing a personal injury claim. Liability must be established, based upon a showing of negligence, before a civil court will decide on damage claims.
Source: usc.edu, “Brain injury startup develops concussion test“, Marc Ballon, Sept. 14, 2015
