A portable device based on submarine warfare technology that works like sonar could help doctors quickly detect stroke or other brain injuries, according to scientists.

"Time is brain" is the mantra of stroke specialists -- the sooner patients can be treated for stroke or other brain injuries, the higher the chance the patient can survive without crippling neurological disabilities.

But the "gold standard" for diagnosing strokes and their injuries is usually a CT scan -- not easily accessible to wounded soldiers on the battlefield or patients just scooped up by an ambulance.
In a presentation Monday at the Society for Interventional Radiologist's annual meeting in Chicago, University of Toronto researchers say a new device could help give preliminary readings on brain injuries, helping doctors triage patients or more quickly decide on treatment.

Based on their proof-of-principle work with 40 patients, the scientists think the device could help with "any neurological condition that has a physiological basis and is of the order of 2-millimeters in extent or larger."

"We believe that this technology could easily differentiate normal brain from conditions such as epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma, subarachnoid hemorrhage and intracerebral hemorrhage," the researchers said in their abstract. The research was led by Dr. Kieran Murphy, professor and vice chair of radiology at the University of Toronto and the University Health Network in Toronto.

The device, being commercialized by the privately held startup Jan Medical Inc., is a headset attached to a small signal processing box which links to a laptop computer.

According to the researcher's abstract, the technology works, in essence, by measuring the accelerations of the skull from changes in blood flow or the brain, and using these measurements to calculate unique "signatures" of various ailments.

A note on Jan Medical's website explains how it works:

The system headset is an inverted submarine sonar sphere that uses signal detection methods. Instead of looking out through the special rounded bow of a submarine, the company's ultra-sensitive accelerometers are oriented inward, using the natural characteristics of the human skull as the transfer medium. Each time the heart beats and pumps blood into the vascular system within the skull, the system is set into motion. Every cerebral blood vessel and the brain matter itself responds with a very slight sympathetic motion that has structurally defined characteristics. Veins expand and contract, aneurysms wobble, and stenoses restrict and confine; each produces a unique vibratory 'signature' that can be quantified and qualified by the company's system.

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