Using MRI scanning technology, Center for Imaging Research at the Medical College of Wisconsin are determining the direct effects of sports-related concussions on brain structure and function.The aim of the study is to advance the discovery of more objective biomarkers to assist in diagnosing concussion, determining when an athlete’s brain has fully recovered, and clinical decision making about the athlete’s fitness to return to play after a concussion.

The Initiative will build on and coordinate multiple efforts within the company, including corporate venture capital, open innovation, R&D, and health care lines of business. This includes previously announced efforts at GE, such as the work that the company has done to convene the traumatic brain injury community and support for “Brain Trust” meetings of thought leaders.

Banyan Biomarkers; BrainScope Company; Medical College of Wisconsin; Quanterix, Lexington, Mass.; UC Santa Barbara (UCSB); and University of Montana.

Each winner will receive a $500,000 award to advance their work to speed diagnosis and improve treatment for mild traumatic brain injury. This award is in addition to $300,000 previously awarded to the 16 first round winners of the Head Health Challenge I.

Recent breakthroughs in both MRI scanning and data analysis make it possible to detect subtle brain changes in individual patients after mild concussions. This approach will be tested with clinical data from collaborators using a variety of MRI scanners.

Research over the past year has demonstrated changes in specific plasma microRNAs (micro ribonucleic acids) in TBI patients over a period of several months. The identification and validation of these markers could help with diagnosis and assessing recovery after a head injury as well as testing the effectiveness of new treatments for TBI.

Quanterix is working to detect and quantify mild to moderate traumatic brain injury almost immediately after the injury has taken place, which will help to better predict the long-term prognosis of individuals who have undergone acute and repetitive injuries. Quanterix’s goal is to provide a blood test that speeds the diagnosis of a concussion in a clinical setting and on the sidelines in a sports arena.

BrainScope is developing a concussion assessment system to identify concussed from non-concussed patients and provide a method for assessment of concussed patients over time. This system in development is for initial point-of-care assessment to rehabilitation of head-injured patients.

This research supported the utility of the BrainScope markers as a surrogate for neuroimaging.

For more information on the GE & NFL Challenge, go to this post.

Researchers from Banyan Biomarkers and the University of Florida are collaborating on a sports concussion study to analyze biomarkers, neurocognitive testing, and neuroimaging on student athletes. Banyan expects twenty blood-based markers for head injury will be added to the study in the coming year.

For more information on the GE & NFL Challenge, go to this post.