A trial investigating a potential electric biomarker for mTBI is now recruiting teenage and adult patients at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) https://www.uth.edu.
The trial will evaluate the effectiveness of Nurochek, a new FDA cleared device to assess mTBI injuries or known as concussions. The Nurochek device measures the brain’s normal electrical activity using Steady State Visual Evoked Potentials (SSVEP) which is a form of the EEG signal that is the natural response to visual stimulation at specific frequencies.
Brain injuries are extremely common, with more than three million Americans diagnosed annually and 10% of all contact sports athletes sustain a concussion yearly, according to estimates from the CDC.
Historically, SSVEPs have been performed on patients with neurological disease. Summer Ott, PsyD Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, and also Director of the Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Sports Medicine Institute Concussion Program, reports “Researchers are looking for ways concussions can be objectively identified and diagnosed as a concussions, but we are also looking for ways that we can help athletes get better sooner.
The multisite study aims to enroll a total of 360 participants. The study will recruit adolescents ages 14-17 and adults ages 18-35 who present within 72 hours of a suspected concussion. At the UTHealth Houston site, the hope is to screen 200 individuals for a target enrollment of 100 subjects.
Participants will report for four 30 minute visits over a four week period while completing two assessments. The Nurochek and the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool Edition 5 will be the standardized test at each visit.
For more information on the trial, call 713-486-3435.