Cornering concussion

Michelle LaPlaca, an assistant professor at Georgia Tech and Emory University, and David Wright, assistant director of Emory University’s Emergency Medicine Research Center, have developed a new device to detect brain injuries right on the sidelines of a football game, on a battlefield or in the emergency room.

Called DETECT (Display Enhanced Testing for Concussions and mTBI system), the device is a fast, easy to administer and sensitive system for assessing problems associated with concussions. The DETECT device is an integrated system that includes software applications, a portable computer and an LCD display in the headgear.

While a typical mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) test requires a quiet room and one or two hours of testing, DETECT performs neuropsychological tests in an immersive environment in about seven minutes, regardless of surrounding noise and movement. So, a football player or soldier who just took a hard hit to the head can take the test and either be safely cleared to get back on the pitch or sent to receive medical attention.