The pupillometer is a new hand-held, portable device to help diagnose concussion sooner and help patients get treatment faster. Learn how it works.
Transcript
Diagnosing Concussion: Pupillometer
Christina L. Master, MD, FAAP, CAQSM, FACSM: Another instrument that we're really excited about is the pupillometer. It is a device that is handheld and portable and potentially could have real relevant clinical utility on the sideline, in the athletic training room, besides in the office where we are currently examining it. What the pupillometry does, is it shines a light at your eye, and then it uses an infrared camera to capture how your pupil responds to that light.
And so we're actually able to get very precise measurements in terms of how quickly your pupil responds to light. And that seems to be changed after concussion. And so we just had a research publication that came out last year in JAMA Ophthalmology that indicated that this device has a lot of promise.
We're hopefully moving the diagnosis of concussion from, "Hey, how you feeling? Do you think you have a concussion?" And reporting symptoms of headache and dizziness and feeling off balance to hopefully objective measures that we'll be able to use both in diagnosis as well as monitoring, and then a safe return to play after recovery.
So we're very excited about these technologies.
Topics Covered: Concussion
Related Centers and Programs: Minds Matter Concussion Program
