Two academic imaging centers and a traumatic brain injury detection firm are among six winners in a $10 million Head Health Challenge sponsored by GE Healthcare and the National Football League (NFL).
Winners include the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee; the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB); and BrainScope of Bethesda, MD, working with the Purdue Neurotrauma Group of West Lafayette, IN:
- The Medical College of Wisconsin is using MR technology to explore the direct effects of sports-related concussions on brain structure and function. Researchers hope to identify biomarkers to help diagnose concussion and determine when an athlete's brain has fully recovered.
- UCSB's Brain Imaging Center is developing statistical methods to detect damage to deep connections in the brain after a mild head injury.
- BrainScope is collaborating with the Purdue Neurotrauma Group to conduct studies of athletes using neuroimaging tools as well as BrainScope's urgent care, handheld, electroencephalogram-based traumatic brain injury detection technology.
The competition is part of the Head Health Initiative, a four-year, $60 million collaboration between GE and the NFL to speed diagnosis and improve treatment for mild traumatic brain injury, according to GE. In addition to $300,000 previously awarded to each of 16 first-round winners, the six honorees will each receive a $500,000 award, GE said.
