Application of functional near-infrared imaging as a biomarker of injury and recovery in mild traumatic brain injury and concussion

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Concussion and brain injury are now being recognized as a major health issue for Canadians. This problem may be especially severe in pediatric populations where brain injury could have life long implications and since children are more likely than adults to have persistent symptoms. In many sports, returning to activity before one is ready seems to increase the risk of further injury. We need to have a bette understanding of the actual injury and we need better tools to quantify the injury. MRI is a possibility but it will be limited by access and cost. We have discovered that regional brain communication may be impaired in brain injury and that this can be detected with a portable brain imaging system based on light. This method, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) can be used like MRI to detect brain activation but it can be done in a doctors office or playing field. We will expand our knowledge of brain communication as a marker of brain injury by measuring in different brain regions as well as in both pediatric and adult populations. We will improve the technology to make it more suitable for use by physicians and we will work with a Canadian company to determine if it is medically relevant and commercially viable to produce a fNIRS based concussion meter.