New Scientific Breakthrough May Lead to Improved TBI Imaging

Better Imaging for Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are some of the worst injuries we see in car accidents. They can leave wounds lasting a lifetime, and can completely alter the lifestyle of the victim and their family. Since the brain is such an amazingly complex and delicate piece of hardware, TBIs are often difficult to diagnose using currently available medical imaging technology. Now, a team of scientists from the University of San Diego has created a new technique that could soon lead to much better brain images.

The Complexity of a Traumatic Brain Injury

TBIs are complex injuries consisting of the initial injury – the force or trauma, and the secondary injury – the cascade of damages and symptoms caused by the primary injury. When the brain suffers an impact (primary injury), small bubbles form and collapse in the brain tissues (secondary injuries).

To visualize what this looks like, imagine vigorously shaking a partly-full water bottle to create a froth of bubbles inside the sealed space. Shaking the bottle is like a primary traumatic injury, creating the bubbles that cause secondary injuries. But unlike the bubbles in the water bottle, when “microbubbles” formed by trauma to the brain collapse, they create jets of pressure that can scour, weaken and destroy brain tissues. This microbubble collapse process actually occurs in many places throughout nature and industry and is even powerful enough to weaken and destroy metal used in mechanical pumps.

The issue for victims of TBI, and for those working for their recovery, is to demonstrate with convincing evidence that the strength and integrity of brain tissues have been adversely affected by the trauma and resulting micro cavitation. This can be a difficult, if not impossible, task using the current standard imaging methods.

Imaging a Traumatic Brain Injury

At present, brain injuries are most often imaged using an MRI, or Magnetic Resonance Image. In an MRI, a strong magnetic field is applied to the body. Certain atomic nuclei absorb and emit this energy as radio-frequency emissions, which can be thought of like low-energy, invisible light waves. These radio waves reach the detector differently are detected and computed to form a picture of the brain. CT and PET scans use a similar technique but use more harmful, ionizing radiation, and they provide less clear images of specific brain structures. While MRIs can show certain kinds of trauma, they cannot show the strength of the brain tissues themselves.

Improved Imaging on the Horizon

The University of San Diego team, led by Dr. Alfred Crosby, Ph.D., believes that their new method will address some of the major shortcomings in imaging TBIs. Called “Cavitation Rheology,” the method uses pressure and deformations on the surface of a bubble to measure the mechanical responses in biological tissues. In the most basic form, the scientists inflate a bubble inside a material and measure the pushback from the surrounding material to determine its integrity and mechanical properties. “Cavitation” refers to the bubble forming an empty space inside the material.

Using this basic concept, scientists are working to develop the capability of measuring the structural properties and surface strength of tissues inside the body and brain. This development is a key breakthrough and paves the way for increased accuracy in diagnoses in traumatic brain injury.

Watch YouTube Video: Imaging of Head Trauma. The following video shows several images of traumatic head and brain injuries.

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