 "Photo: Jon Huang")
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is using UT's world-class brain scanner in a $4.2 million program aiming to study and treat hard-to-detect brain injuries sustained by veterans.
More than 1.6 million people have been deployed in the current military conflicts, and many have come back with emotional and mental health issues. It is now believed that many of these may result from traumatic brain injuries resulting from explosions and other combat hazards. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 20,000 servicemen and women have already suffered these injuries, causing a variety of crippling symptoms including inability to concentrate, emotional instability and depression.
Dr. Robert Van Boven, director of the Veteran's Affairs program, said that many veterans are suffering from brain trauma too subtle to be detected by standard medical techniques. The similarity of brain injury symptoms to those of post-traumatic stress disorder can lead to misdiagnosis, ineffective treatment and ruined lives, Van Boven said.
"We hope we can better characterize and improve sensitivity to detect so-called 'invisible brain injury,'" he said.
Van Boven and his team believe that the new scanner can help diagnose these invisible brain traumas and work toward effective treatment.
The $2.7 million scanner, built in January 2006 and located at the Imaging Research Center at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus, combines several brain scanning technologies and has twice the power of a standard MRI.
"We're pleased that the Imaging Research Center is able to contribute to research on this important problem," said Michael Domjan, UT psychology professor and director of the center.
Domjan said the scanner's location at the research campus in North Austin, will make participation in the program more accessible to veterans and their families because of parking availability.
The scanner uses fMRI technology, which allows researchers to track brain activity in real time, in conjunction with technologies that track neurochemicals and water movement within the brain. Domjan said the combination of these techniques allows for detailed study of the inner workings of the brain.
"This is a very powerful new technology for studying human brain function and studying processes in other physiological systems," he said.
Van Boven organized a team of highly experienced researchers committed to helping returning veterans. In addition to collaboration with renowned cognitive neuroscientists from around the country, the lab has eight full-time employees. Research assistant Ellis Blackmore, a former serviceman, served on a submarine crew in the 1980s.
"Being prior military, I wholeheartedly support anything that's going to help health care and make the lives of all servicemen and women better," he said.
Research assistant Mohamad Fakhreddine, who graduated from UT last May with a degree in mechanical engineering, said that the field of cognitive neuroscience is an exciting challenge.
"The type of work is very cutting-edge, a powerful tool that people are just beginning to tap the potential of," he said.
Van Boven hopes to begin studying patients as early as next month. On Thursday, the program will hold an open house to introduce the program to the University and research community. The event is expected to draw noted researchers and politicians, including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.
"There is a contagious enthusiasm that is going on here," Van Boven said. "We are translating discovery into changing lives."
Be the first to comment on this article!