The Role of Neuroimaging in Sport-Related Concussion

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Neuroimaging following mild TBI—an overview

With the advent of ultrafast multislice computed tomography (CT) scanners, CT imaging can be completed in seconds and is still the modality of choice in emergency departments to look for macroscopic abnormalities associated with acute sports-related brain trauma. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has greater contrast resolution than CT and can detect structural abnormalities earlier than CT. However, until recently, it has not been used in the acute setting because of its susceptibility to metal

New techniques in neuroimaging following brain trauma

The newer techniques described in this article can be broadly divided into structural and functional techniques (Table 1).

Summary

Some of the newer techniques described in this article are being increasingly used in the clinical assessment of patients following mild to moderate TBI. Other techniques are used in research, but may have clinical relevance, which needs to be proven by large-scale, well-designed studies that demonstrate a clear benefit in scanning these patients. Specifically, there is a need for large studies with a special emphasis on the effects of repeated head trauma in the young athlete. This is

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    The author has nothing to disclose.

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