BRAINBox Solutions and Dr. Michael Stuart, Chief Medical Officer of USA Hockey, and his research team today announced that have entered a collaboration to evaluate biomarkers in blood and saliva for concussion in elite girls and boys high school hockey players. Dr. Stuart’s research project, funded by the USA Hockey Foundation, will be utilizing BRAINbox Solutions’ patented, proprietary protected biomarkers in blood and saliva as part of his study. The research is designed to better understand the impact of subclinical head trauma and acute concussion in high endurance contact sport athletes. This data will also inform BRAINBox’s planned clinical trial of its multi-modal concussion diagnostic and prognostic test, BRAINBox TBI, in sports and this age group. The company is now completing their pilot study in a general 10-18 year old population in conjunction with Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC.
“We’re hoping this study provides objective evidence of neurocognitive changes due to head impacts and will benchmark the efficacy of potential interventions,” Dr. Stuart says. “We seek to advance our understanding of concussion and improve prevention, diagnosis and management of this common condition.”
“Concussion diagnosis and management, and, significantly, determining when students can safely return to play, is a major challenge due to the lack of objective means to evaluate the risk of post-concussion symptoms,” said Damon Kuehl, MD FACEP, a member of the BRAINBox Scientific Advisory Board and the company’s Sports Advisory Board. “Dr. Stuart’s study is the first of its kind in this population and will provide important baseline data in this age group and will allow us to determine measurable changes as a result of injury using novel biomarkers targeted towards the youth athlete.” Dr. Kuehl is Vice Chair of Emergency Medicine for Carilion Clinic and Associate Professor of the VTC School of Medicine’s Department of Emergency Medicine.
“This research is part of our commitment to change clinical practice in the diagnosis and management of concussion for all age groups and define objective criteria for this condition, called Acute Traumatic encephalopathy (ATE),” said Donna Edmonds BRAINBox Solutions’ CEO. “We are currently in the late stages of a pivotal trial with BRAINBox TBI in adults and have begun a study in geriatric patients with support from the National Institutes of Health.”
BRAINBox Solutions, Inc is developing the first AI–enabled, multi–modality approach for the diagnosis and prognosis of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, commonly referred to as a concussion. The company seeks to establish a clinical best–practice standard for the diagnosis and prognosis of concussion. The company also has a portfolio of biomarkers that reflect neurological changes and will be applicable in chronic disease. The product incorporates a panel of proprietary, patented blood biomarkers that can be read in a few moments on a point–of–care instrument or using standard laboratory systems, as well as neurocognitive testing, to provide a single–system score that measures the severity of the injury and post-concussive symptoms. The company is led by key physician and scientific thought leaders in the field and an experienced, clinically focused management team.