Episode #53: Developing a “Window into the Brain” for Traumatic Injury Diagnosis

The number of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) casualties has increased tremendously, especially for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers who are exposed to IED associated blasts are often not aware of any resulting mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and return to duty without proper medical diagnosis and treatment.

Dr. Thomas Meitzler, scientist at the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), and Dr. Joy Hirsch, professor at Columbia University and director of the Program for Imaging and Cognitive Sciences, will discuss a collaborative study to determine what areas of the brain are susceptible to damage and measure the neural circuitry engagement for TBI patients. The key goals of this project are to develop a pre and post deployment functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) protocol that identifies a specific neural signature from blast induced TBI in soldiers and to provide vehicle intelligence.

The results of neuroimaging will be used to guide and monitor therapy, and prevent compounding injury by multiple blast exposures.

U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center(TARDEC)

TARDEC on Twitter

Program for Imaging and Cognitive Sciences

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