Summary
This portable rapid assessment tool diagnoses mild Traumatic Brain Injuries (mTBI) through a series of brief tests using a grip dynamometer.
Inventors
Alexander Dromerick, MD
Peter Lum, PhD
Rochelle Tractenberg, PhD
What is it? What does it do?
Concussions or mild Traumatic Brain Injuries (mTBI) can cause a wide range of functional short or long-term changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, or emotions. These injuries are a common occurrence among individuals participating in sports and in the military.
MedStar Health’s BrainFORCETM mTBI Screening tool is a portable rapid assessment tool designed for use in the field as the first in a battery of tests to diagnose mTBI in athletes, military personnel, and other at-risk groups. The assessment takes less than 10 minutes and combines cognitive neuroscience, technical engineering, and biostatistics to measure multiple cognitive functions such as concentration, predictive abilities, and fine visuomotor skills through a series of brief tests using a grip dynamometer.
Why is it better?
- The portable grip dynamometer and iPad application make the BrainFORCETM mTBI Screening tool easily deployable in the field, when and where an injury occurs
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The tool measures multiple manifestations of mTBI early after injury as an additional screening modality to accompany existing methods
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Preliminary studies indicate higher accuracy for detecting mTBI compared to two gold standard methods: the Simple Reaction Test (SRT) and the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM)
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Pending further study, the BrainFORCETM mTBI Screening tool may also be adapted to screen for other mild cognitive impairments (MCIs) such as early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), intoxication, and sleep deprivation
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US Patent 10,674,943 (https://patents.google.com/patent/US10674943B2), international patent applications pending
What is its current status?
The BrainFORCE™ mTBI Screening tool was tested in a cross-sectional study with a group of individuals with clinically diagnosed mTBI whose ages were consistent with active military duty; a control group of age-matched healthy individuals; and a group of age-matched healthy individuals asked to malinger. Capable of distinguishing between the three groups, the BrainFORCE™ mTBI Screening tool demonstrated 90% accuracy for predicting a concussion. Two validation studies were performed with the MedStar Washington Hospital Center emergency department and the Towson University Lacrosse team (unpublished data available upon request).
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Patent |
Status |
| US10674943B2 | Issued |
| CA2884371C | Issued |
| EP13835131.7A | Pending |
Publications
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Fine et al. (2016). Dynamic motor tracking is sensitive to subacute mTBI. Experimental brain research, 234(11), 3173–3184.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27392948/
BrainFORCETM 2016, MedStar Health Inc. Columbia, MD