Electronic Sensors Could Revolutionize Treatment And Recovery For Tampa Bay Brain Injury
Led by John A. Rogers, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Wilson Ray, a professor of neurological surgery at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, researchers have created a new class of small, naturally dissolving electronic sensors that could be revolutionary for brain injury treatment and recovery. The researchers published their work in the journal Nature on January 18, 2016.
How Can the New Sensors Help Tampa Bay Brain Injury Patients?
Following a traumatic brain injury or brain surgery, it is often crucial to closely monitor the brain for swelling or changes in pressure and temperature. However, doing this is typically a complicated task. Current monitoring technology is clunky and typically requires invasive surgery to both implement and remove once a patient has been cleared. Additionally, the wires restrict patient’s head movement and can hamper physical therapy. The new sensors are built on incredibly thin sheets of silicon smaller than a grain of rice and are made to remain functional for a set period of days before dissolving harmlessly. The sensors are designed to sense clinically relevant pressure levels within the intracranial fluid around the brain, as well as changes in temperature. It then sends this data wirelessly through a tiny transmitter implanted beneath the skin, but outside the skull.
Diagnosis of Tampa Bay Brain Injuries
The first thing medical teams do when assessing a head injury[2] is to determine whether the person is in imminent danger of death. Once vital functions are stabilized, physicians examine the individual from a neurological perspective including:
- level of consciousness
- function of the cranial nerves (through pupillary responses to light, eye movements, and facial symmetry)
- motor function (strength, symmetry, and any abnormality of movements)
- breathing rate and pattern (linked to brain stem function)
- deep tendon reflexes, such as the knee jerk
- sensory function, such as response to a pinprick
- external signs of trauma, fracture, deformity, and bruising in the head and neck
Each of these parts of the physical exam will give a physician clues about the extent and location of any brain injury.
Contact a Tampa Bay Brain Injury Attorney
If you or a loved one has sustained a brain injury, it is important to speak to an experienced Tampa Bay brain injury lawyer. At the Dolman Law Group in Clearwater, Florida, our team of highly skilled brain injury lawyers have helped many victims obtain the recovery they deserve for their injuries and related losses including lost wages, medical expenses as well as pain and suffering. Please call our office at 727-451-6900 today.
Dolman Law Group
800 North Belcher Road
Clearwater, FL 3375
(727) 451-6900
https://www.dolmanlaw.com/legal-services/brain-injury-attorneys/
References:
[1] http://www.nature.com/nrneurol/index.html
[2] http://www.brainline.org/content/2009/06/brain-trauma-concussion-and-coma_pageall.html
