VTCRI wins award to develop test for mild traumatic brain injury, working with industry partners, University of Virginia
May 15th, 2018
Scientists at two of Virginia’s largest universities, working with clinicians from the two major health systems and a growing Virginia-based biotechnology company, have teamed up to address an important medical challenge — how do you accurately diagnose a mild traumatic brain injury that has subtle or no physical signs but can cause long-term damage?
The project has won the support of the Virginia Catalyst, formerly known as the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corp., which has awarded a $500,000 grant to the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute (VTCRI) to further develop and commercialize a multi-modality system approach to aid in the diagnosis and management of mild traumatic brain injury, known as mTBI.
A core component of the system is a blood-based test that can also be administered directly at the point of care, providing rapid results. The VTCRI will serve as the first anchor research and demonstration site.
Brain injuries, including concussions, can be silent and occur without any loss of consciousness.