Mar 21, 2009 12:58 am US/Eastern
Health: Treating Severe Head Injuries
(CBS 3)
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Natasha Richardson, left, and Liam Neeson arrive at afterparty for "The Other Man" premiere at the Trafalger Hotel on Oct. 17, 2008, in London.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
We now know that speedy treatment could have dramatically
changed the outcome of Natasha Richardson's skiing accident.
With any head injury quickly determining if
there's bleeding in the brain is key.
A
new device could do just that, at an accident scene.
It's small and
portable.
The hand held device called
The Infrascanner detects bleeding in the brain in seconds.
Natasha Richardson could have benefited from
a quick scan right after the skiing accident, when she seemed perfectly
fine.
"Time lost is
brain loss.
So the idea is that The
Infrascanner is a screening device that allows quick triage," said Dr.
Baruch Ben Dor, with Drexel
University and the CEO of
InfraScan Incorporated.
He helped
develop the new technology.
The device
works by scanning infrared light over the head.
If there's bleeding the light is absorbed and the data is sent to a
hand-held unit.
"On the side that
you will have the bleeding you'll have a weaker signal.
So by comparing the signal between left and
right you could say oops there's very strong asymmetry here.
So there must be a bleeding inside,"
said Dr. Ben Dor.
The quick read by first
responders would be especially beneficial for example someone injured in a
bicycle accident or a soldier on the battlefield.
If the scan indicates bleeding quick
treatment is needed.
"Unfortunately the
case of Natasha Richardson is really illustration of why it's needed,"
said Dr. Ben Dor.
Richardson's brain bleeding was eventually
detected with a CT scan, but it took hours before she got to a hospital.
The Infrascanner could bridge that critical
gap.
It's currently being reviewed by
the FDA.
InfraScan is hoping for
approval soon.
RELATED LINKS:
Infrascanner Information
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