Handheld Device Detects Brain Injuries
Reported March 27, 2006

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- From the scene of the accident to the treatment room, doctors treating patients with severe head trauma have only 60 minutes -- the golden hour -- to have the best chance of a successful outcome. Now, a new handheld device, will shave valuable minutes off the time it takes to diagnose bleeding in the brain.

Biomedical engineers of Drexel University in Philadelphia developed a device that can be used to scan for brain injuries at the site of an accident, in the ambulance or even on the battlefield.

The scanner has benefits beyond its portability. Usually, brain injuries are detected using CT scans. CT scans, however, are expensive and are typically used on less than half of patients with head trauma.

Researchers say the handheld device will be a more affordable brain injury screening solution.

The InfraScanner comes in two parts. A wireless detector probe, approximately the size of a hairbrush, scans the head. It sends signals to a PDA with software that interprets the information and displays where the head injury is.

The InfraScanner is the first handheld device medical professionals can use to quickly detect brain injuries. The device is about to undergo multicenter clinical trials. Researchers hope it will be available as early as the end of 2006.

SOURCE: Drexel University, Philadelphia