There is good news on the horizon for those who have suffered from brain injuries as a result of automobile accidents or other causes. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a variety of magnetic resonance imaging that shows the water-diffusion gradients in living tissue, has proven useful in studying even relatively mild brain injuries, according to a recently-published study in the journal Brain.
The study was run by Dr. Marilyin Kraus, a professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of medicine, and looked at 37 patients with brain injuries (20 of which were classed as mild and 17 moderate to severe) and 18 healthy volunteers. The subjects were imaged and also asked to take a battery of neuropsychological tests.
The combined testing showed that even patients with no discernible cognitive damage had structural damage in the white matter of the brain. And those with severe brain injuries had much more extensive structural damage. Interestingly, the study shows a different pattern of brain damage than had previously been observed.
Although the cognitive areas of the brain may be functioning normally, when the white matter, which serves as the connective tissue between these cognitive areas, is damaged, the cognitive areas are essentially unplugged and therefore worthless.
This new imaging technique should help those injured in accidents and the insurance companies that cover them by being able to precisely identify the level and type of brain damage suffered during the accident. Until this technique becomes more common, however, we can expect that insurance companies will continue to regard those claiming severe soft tissue injuries with suspicion, as though all such claims were fraudulent. In order to get a fair hearing and compensation for your legitimate injury, contact the personal injury lawyers at the Law Firm of Barry G. Doyle, P.C., helping victims in Chicago, Rockford, Aurora, and surrounding areas.