Clinical importance

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the U.S. incidence of traumatic brain injuries (TBI), ranging from mild to moderate to severe, come to approximately 1.45 million new cases each year. Approximately 25% of TBI cases are severe, with one-third progressing to death and two-thirds leading to lifelong disability. The rapid detection of elevated ICP in brain injuries is critical for physicians and first responders to develop the best therapy to reduce death and disability. On a global basis, the number of patients is believed to be at least three times as large as the US.

 

Head injury has devastating economic and social consequences both for the victim and for the society that supports the victim. The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 5.3 million Americans suffer from mental or physical disability that is due to brain injury. According to Wayne A. Gordon, director of the Brain Injury Research Center at Mount Sinai Scholl of medicine in New York, “Unidentified traumatic brain injury is an unrecognized source of social and vocational failure.” Since head injury is more prevalent in the young and the associated disability does not significantly reduce life expectancy, the result is that the social and economic costs incurred by health and welfare organizations are long term and substantial.

 

„Brain Trauma Foundation“ - US organization established to improve the outcome of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients worldwide. Research has proven that all brain damage does not occur at the moment of impact but rather evolves over the ensuing hours and days after the initial injury, due to brain swelling and inadequate oxygen and blood flow to the injured brain. In most cases, this secondary damage can be controlled by applying scientific, evidence-based diagnostic and treatment Guidelines (Guidelines for the Management of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury 1995, last time updated 2007), which BTF has developed with medical organizations and physicians with expertise in TBI. One of the main parameters to be monitored for patients with TBI is absolute ICP, because elevated ICP indicates brain swelling or bleeding what can result in patients death or disability if necessary treatment is not applied in time. BTF declares that thousands of lives could be saved each year in the U.S., millions worldwide, and more would be spared life-long disabilities if the guidelines would be used routinely by healthcare professionals. These guidelines are approved by American Association of Neurological Surgeons and World health organization.

 

An independent analysis of the effect of the Brain Trauma Foundation’s (BTF) guidelines on traumatic brain injury (TBI) outcome and cost savings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that if the BTF guidelines were used more routinely, there would be a 50% decrease in deaths, improved quality of life and a savings of $262 million in annual medical costs, $43 million in annual rehabilitation costs and a lifetime societal cost of $3.84 billion. These are costs that could be saved if ICP monitoring would be routine procedure for severe TBI patients. Vittamed technology will expand usage of ICP measure to even wider range. Patients with mild and at-risk TBI could be monitored with noninvasive devices and even better results of patient output and cost savings could be achieved.