A Personalized Approach to Predicting Long-Term Neuro-Psychiatric Outcomes in TBI
Abstract
Concussion (aka mild traumatic brain injury, or mTBI) is a common injury that occurs through events like falls, accidents, playing sports, and explosions. Common symptoms are headache, dizziness, vision changes, and being sensitive to light and sound. While most patients heal within weeks, some develop Post-Concussion Syndrome, in which symptoms remain for months and years. Despite worldwide efforts to develop timely and effective treatments for concussion, there remains no Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment or successful clinical trials. Part of the problem is that traditional brain imaging, such as MRI and CAT scans, are not able to detect the subtle brain changes caused by concussion, but a newer type of imaging, called diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), is able to detect changes. This project will use the information collected from two large groups of concussion patients (athletes and patients who are seen at emergency rooms) who received in-depth testing, including DWI, within 48 hours of injury. Using “big data” analytical methods, we will try to predict which patients took the longest to recover and what types of symptoms the patients had. If successful, we will then create a clinical computing tool where doctors can upload patient data to a free app and get information about estimated recovery times and symptoms personalized for that patient. This project therefore aligns with the goal of using FITBIR data to inform clinical practice guidelines for concussion. It also fits with the goal of determining which patient characteristics—whether symptom-, demographic-, injury-, or brain-related—are most helpful for understanding how a concussion is likely to affect each injured person. Finally, the project addresses the goal of linking diagnostic tools to understanding how a patient will recover. The benefits of this project are that scientists will have a better understanding of how patient symptoms relate to brain changes following concussion and how both symptoms and brain changes relate to how long it takes a patient to recover. The app we will produce will be free for anyone to use. This will speed progress in concussion research. It will also help doctors treat patients who have had a recent concussion. Because of the higher rate of concussion among military personnel, and especially Warfighters, this research could have a very large benefit for Soldiers and their families who are affected by concussion. Because the data we are using has already been collected and is anonymous (e.g., no one can tell whose data it came from), there are no risks to anyone from this project.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 10, 2021
- Source ID
- W81XWH2010717
Entities
People
- Nicholas Port
Organizations
- Indiana University
- United States Army