Infrascan out of Philly, PA has received the European CE Mark to sell the company’s infrared hematoma detection device for emergency personnel responding to traumatic injuries.
From the press release about the device:
The Infrascanner brain hematoma detector is the first hand-held device of its kind designed to assist first responders and emergency room personnel in identifying life threatening brain hematomas, allowing expedient assessment of patients and potentially facilitating crucial treatment. Intracranial hematomas resulting from a traumatic brain injury are life-threatening and patient outcomes can improve significantly if treated within an hour after an injury – known as the “golden hour”. While most hospitals have a Computer Aided Tomography (CAT) scanner, which is viewed as the state-of-the-art technology for diagnosing a brain hematoma, many facilities lack the neurosurgical capabilities to treat the condition. The early identification of a brain hematoma can play a significant role in facilitating transportation of critically injured patients to facilities, which can both verify Infrascanner’s early diagnosis and offer surgical intervention.
The Infrascanner is a small, completely portable device, which can detect the presence and location of a brain hematoma based on differential NIR light absorption of a hematoma and normal brain tissue. InfraScan will present the results of a pivotal (400 patient) multicenter study to the FDA later this year to support its 510k application and a subsequent U.S. launch of the device. A pilot study with an earlier Infrascanner prototype involving more than 300 patients demonstrated high sensitivity for detecting bleeding in the brain and for rapidly detecting the onset of delayed hematomas.
Product page: Infrascanner…
Press release: InfraScan Launches International Sales of a Handheld Brain Hematoma Detector (.pdf)…
Flashback: Quick, Cheap & Easy Bedside Diagnosis of Brain Injury