Positron Emission Tomography / PET

PET Scanning is the best imaging technique to assist in the diagnosis of subtle brain injury because it is a functional imaging test, very sensitive to the diffuse changes seen after concussion.

The advantage of functional imaging studies is that by measuring some aspect of brain function, it can show us something about the living brain, that an evaluation of its structures alone can not. Because they show how the brain is functioning, they can identify evidence of diffuse, yet microscopic, brain damage.

Functional tests include:

• PET
• SPECT
• FMRI
• MRI - Spectroscopy: New but may be the breakthrough test.
• EEG and QEEG i.e. Brain Mapping.
• Evoked response.
  

The way in which a functional test does this is by looking at how the brain is functioning, by examining a specific aspect of a brain's function, such as glucose or oxygen consumption in the case of PET.

PET Scanning features:

• PET uses a radioactive isotope.
• PET is positive in a significant majority of subtle cases.
• PET is highly correlative to Neuropsych Testing.
• PET is the best way to determine the severity of brain damage in catastrophic brain injury.

It is not necessary to have a loss of consciousness to suffer permanent brain injury.

Source: Definition of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Developed by the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee of the Head Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. J Head Trauma Rehabil 1993:8(3):86-87

Contact the Brain Injury Law Group: 1-800-992-9447

This site is brought to you by the advocates of the Brain Injury Law Group, a community of plaintiff's trial lawyers across the United States united by a common interest in serving the rights of persons with traumatic brain injuries and a common commitment to fully understanding the anatomic, medical and psychological aspects of TBI.