Advanced Imaging to Guide Brain Injury Care

Contributed by Center for Diagnostic Imaging 

Brain injuries are complex and can impair a person's physical and emotional functioning. They can be traumatic, resulting from accidents, falls or contact sports; or non-traumatic, resulting from strokes or aneurysms. Severe brain injuries can be difficult to treat. For all types of brain injuries, advanced imaging tools and expertise aids in accurate diagnosis and guiding a care plan.

Diagnosis and Treatment Planning
The treatment of head injuries depends on the type of injury and the severity. To assess the severity of a head injury, a physician may perform a physical and neurologic exam and imaging tests such as: 

COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY (CT)
A CT of the head and brain is often used as a first imaging test when a concussion is suspected. It is useful for detecting bleeding, swelling, brain injury and skull fractures.

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MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI) 
An MRI is helpful in detecting small hemorrhages or bruises, and monitoring changes in brain structure and function. It is especially useful in treatment planning.

• Can provide a benchmark brain scan for athletes or other patients who may be at higher risk for brain injuries
• Should be considered to evaluate a patient with concussion symptoms lasting more than seven days
• Should be considered to evaluate changing neurological symptoms 

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VOLUMETRIC BRAIN IMAGING
This is performed with MRI post-processing software that provides objective, quantitative volume measurements of two conditions that can result from a brain injury: hydrocephalus and atrophy of the hippocampus.

SUSCEPTIBILITY-WEIGHTED IMAGING (SWI)
SWI is an MRI protocol run at a high resolution, increasing the ability to detect subtler injuries in patients with concussions/traumatic brain injuries, hemorrhages, neurodegenerative diseases and a variety of lesions.

​Learn about CDI’s outpatient medical imaging centers throughout Puget Sound and their specialized clinical teams and services at myCDI.com. ​