Banner Health offers BrainScope in Northern Nevada
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Banner Health offers BrainScope in Northern Nevada

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By Bridget Chavez

FERNLEY, Nev. (KOLO) Patients in northern Nevada can benefit from a new technology that allows for quicker assessments of head injuries, including concussions. Doctors at Banner Health Center in Fernley and Fallon are now offering BrainScope. The technology is a non-invasive, hand-held device used to make head injury assessments on site in non-emergency situations.

"It is a wonderful tool that will help us screen for the presence of concussions without necessarily having to send our patients for a cat scan or emergency room visit," Sharon Maxwell, a physician's assistant, says.

In order for doctors to use BrainScope, patients must be between the ages of 18 and 85 years old and have an evaluation within three days of the injury. It is designed to be fast and efficient, and save patients precious time.

"It actually takes 30 minutes including the whole cognitive assessment, but in reality we only need two minutes of sufficient data to see what we need to do with the patient," Brendalyn Valdovinos, a medical assistant, says.

For both the center in Fernley and the clinic in Fallon, the goal is to assess and treat concussions earlier and eliminate CT scans where possible. Staff at both locations have been trained on the new device.

In emergency situations, always visit your nearest emergency room or call 911 immediately.