Linda Papa, MD, MSC, an Orlando, Florida-based emergency medicine physician, has developed a blood test capable of detecting a protein the brain releases after a concussion or TBI. This test could become a very useful tool because the current methods of detecting concussions rely on the patients’ descriptions of symptoms, and/or CT scans, which subject patients (especially children) to higher levels of radiation than many physicians would prefer.

With TBIs being a highly contested issue in the world of professional sports, especially the NFL, this test might help mitigate the unreliability of the current tests the NFL uses to clear athletes to play after a head injury.

Click here to read the original investigation in JAMA Neurology.