Traumatic brain injury is a major public health problem in the United States, with an estimated 1.7 million people suffering from traumatic brain injuries.
This statistic makes it the leading cause of death among Americans between ages 1 and 44 years old and accounts for approximately 75% of all injury-related deaths. While traumatic brain injury can occur because of any number of accidents or incidents, such as a fall or car accident, there is one way that many doctors believe these injuries can be prevented: by using devices such as pupilometers for pupillary evaluation to detect when trauma has occurred during an accident so that they can give treatments sooner rather than later.
What is a traumatic brain injury?
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a type of injury that occurs when a sudden trauma causes a change in the way the brain functions.
The resulting symptoms can range from mild to severe, but with proper treatment and support, most people who experience a traumatic brain injury can return to their normal lives. Traumatic brain injuries can be caused by many things: blows to the head or other parts of your body; blood clots within veins that feed your brain tissue; infections such as meningitis; tumors or cysts pressing on sensitive areas within your skull; seizures caused by epilepsy; and alcohol or drug abuse, among other factors.
How does a traumatic brain injury impact the patient, both physically and mentally?
A traumatic brain injury can affect the patient physically and mentally. The following are some of the common symptoms:
- Physical symptoms include confusion, disorientation, fatigue, and headaches.
- Mental symptoms include memory loss and reduced attention span. These may be short-term effects that resolve on their own within a few weeks or months after an injury, but they could also lead to more lasting damage if not treated properly. It’s important to note that each person will respond differently to trauma based on factors such as age at the time of injury, the severity of brain damage, as well as other preexisting conditions, which affect how quickly someone heals after a head trauma event.
What is a pupilometer?
A pupilometer is a device that detects traumatic brain injury using a light source, such as a flash or laser, and a camera to detect the movement of the pupils.
The patient’s eyes are checked with an instrument called a pupilometer, which shines bright lights into both eyes and records the pupillary light reflex. When there is no damage to brain tissue, the pupils will contract (narrow) when exposed to bright light.
However, if there is damage to brain tissue, it can cause one or both pupils to not contract normally.
How does a pupilometer help in detecting traumatic brain injuries?
The pupilometer is a device that measures the size of the pupil.
It can be used to detect brain injuries in patients who are unable to communicate, as well as determine which areas of the brain have been damaged by trauma. The device works by shining light into a patient’s eye and measuring how much light is reflected out of it via an infrared camera.
A healthy person’s pupils will constrict when exposed to light because they’re reacting to what feels like increased brightness, but someone suffering from traumatic brain injury may not be able to react this way due to damage in their nervous system or other physiological changes caused by their injury.
The more severe their trauma, the wider their pupils will stay open—and this measurement can help doctors determine whether there are any serious problems with how well their bodies are functioning after a head injury has occurred.