New blood test could diagnose traumatic brain injuries quickly

PITTSBURGH — Basketball is a sport that Troy Akins loves, but it doesn’t come without a potential for injury.

“We were at practice playing fives and I got elbowed in the head. It hurt for a second but it went away as my adrenaline was running,” Akins said who’s a Woodland Hills junior.

By the next day, he was dizzy and pulled from the big game.

“I took a screening test, matching and memory type questions: Am I dizzy? Did I throw up? and after they say if I have a concussion or not,” Akins said.

He, like many other high school athletes, had a concussion. The process to diagnose these traumatic brain injuries can be tedious, but new FDA approval for a blood test could be a game changer for this field.

“The Abbott i-STAT TBI blood test is extraordinarily accurate well above 95% in giving us concrete data about a patient with a concussion or traumatic brain injury,” said Dr. David Okonkwo who’s UPMC’s director of Neurotrauma Program.

Ten years of research right in Pittsburgh led to this new tool, one that could be seen in hospitals and urgent cares this summer. The next step is more testing sand studying to get the tool on the sidelines of athletic fields.

“We will expand the project to the pediatric population and gain a lot more clarity on the precise relationship to this test and athletes on the sideline and in the locker room and ultimately to get to the place where a blood test will tell us the best treatment of a concussion,” Dr. Okonkwo said.

Right now the Abbott i-STAT TBI blood test requires a blood draw, but with a new grant, researchers are working to create a finger prick that does the same test.

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