Scientists can identify brain injury at point-of-care

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have discovered that at the point of treatment, traumatic brain injury can be identified using chemical biomarkers released by the brain shortly after a head injury occurs.

Researchers at the Advanced Nanomaterials, Structures and Applications (ANMSA) group of the University, led by Dr Pola Pola Goldberg Oppenheimer, developed the technique and published their demonstration in the journal, ‘Nature Biomedical Engineering.’

The method works using surface-enhanced Raman scattering, according to Birmingham University, in which a ray of light is shot at the biomarker. A pinprick blood sample acquires the biomarker and is prepared by inserting it into an optofluidic chip, where the blood plasma is isolated and flows over a specialised surface. The light causes the biomarker to turn or vibrate, and it is possible to measure this motion, giving an exact indication of the injury level that has happened.

The team created a low-cost, polymer-made platform covered with a thin film of gold that is subjected to a powerful electric field that redistributes the film into an unique pattern, optimised to resonate with the light beam in exactly the right way.

Dr Oppenheimer stated: “This is a relatively straightforward and quick technique that offers a low-cost but highly accurate way of assessing traumatic brain injury which up until now has not been possible. The current tools we use to diagnose TBI are really quite old fashioned and rely on the subjective judgement of the paramedic or the emergency doctors. There’s an urgent need for new technology in this area to enable us to offer the right treatment for the patient and also to avoid expensive and time-consuming tests for patients where there is no TBI.”