Portable Near-Infrared Technology for Detection of Traumatic Brain Injuries in Operational Environments

In the battlefield setting, it is necessary to triage patients with severe injuries. With both open and closed head injuries, the most important factor determining whether or not a patient requires emergent surgery, is the presence of an intracranial mass lesion. CT scanning is the gold standard for identification and localization of traumatic intracranial hematomas. In the battlefield as well in rural areas of the US and in underdeveloped areas of the world, CTs are not available. Near infrared (NIR) may be a practical solution because of the unique light-absorbing properties of hemoglobin. In pilot studies conducted at Baylor College of Medicine by Dr. Claudia Robertson and Dr. Shankar Gopinath using the RunMan™ NIR monitor, sensitivity for extracerebral (epidural and subdural) hematomas was 100% and sensitivity for intracerebral hematomas was 98%. There were no false positives. The pilot data demonstrates that the detection of presence of any type of hematoma is feasible with NIR. The main objective of this study is to develop a NIR monitor designed to detect the presence of an intracranial hematoma in the field settings. The goal of this Phase II plan is to incorporate the knowledge gained in Phase I to create a field-deployable system.