DIAGNOSING CONCUSSION
Claims of minor traumatic brain injury (MTBI), more commonly
known as concussion, have long been the subject of intense legal
battles in the courtrooms of British Columbia. At the heart of the
dispute is that there is no single determinative test to diagnose
or rule out an MTBI. For example, MRI scans (which can track
structural changes in the brain) are often normal following an
MTBI, as the damage from an MTBI manifests on a microscopic level.
As a result, MTBI is generally diagnosed on clinical assessment,
based on the plaintiff's report of impaired consciousness,
amnesia, and/or cognitive/memory complaints, among other diagnostic
indicators.
That said, certain imaging tests may be more informative than
others. In contrast to MRI or CT scans, which capture structural
information, functional imaging tests such as Single Photon
Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) show blood flow activity in
tissue and provide insight into their
