Adventist Health hospitals only facilities on the West Coast to offer new technology to assess for brain injuries – including concussions
Bakersfield, Calif. Dec 9, 2021 – Did you know nearly 5 million people go to an Emergency Room (ER) for head injuries and concussions each year? That means more people go to the ER for head injuries than stroke and heart attacks combined – which is why Adventist Health is so excited to be the first hospitals on the West Coast to offer new technology that can make significant positive impacts for patients who experience a brain injury.
The ERs at Adventist Health in Bakersfield, Delano and Tehachapi have launched BrainScope® technology, an FDA- cleared assessment device that detects the likelihood of both a brain bleed and concussion. Anyone suspected of a brain injury, including concussion, can now be triaged with this specialized technology at any Adventist Health hospital in Kern County.
“This is another exciting milestone for Adventist Health,” says Daniel Wolcott, president of Adventist Health Kern County. “Our mission calls us to find the best ways to serve the nearly 1 million residents living in Kern County so that we can improve the health and well-being of as many people as possible – this new BrainScope® technology helps us do just that.”
For the physicians who care for patients at Adventist Health facilities, it’s always a good thing to add a new tool to the arsenal of providing quality healthcare.
“The BrainScope® device measures and interprets brain electrical activity and brain function, letting our healthcare team objectively assess the full spectrum of a brain injury, including concussion,” says Dr. David Riggs, Chief Medical Officer for Adventist Health Delano and Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley. “BrainScope can aid in identifying the likelihood of a brain bleed without exposing the patient to the radiation associated with a CT scan. We can also determine concussion status and severity—something a CT (computerized tomography) scan can not provide. BrainScope is the future of assessing brain injuries and unlike anything else available today.”
“We are very proud that Adventist Health has selected BrainScope for use in its Emergency Rooms to triage patients who present with mild traumatic brain injuries. BrainScope is the only FDA cleared medical device that in less than 20 minutes can rapidly and accurately detect the likelihood of a brain bleed or concussion without needles or radiation,” said Susan Hertzberg Chief Executive Officer at BrainScope. “In clinical practice, BrainScope has demonstrated the ability to reduce the use of head CT by up to 55%.”
HOW IT WORKS
Patients who have sustained a mild head injury within the last three days are candidates for a BrainScope assessment.
Lasting 20 minutes or less on average, the assessment involves capturing EEG data through a disposable headset placed on the patient’s forehead and running the data through the BrainScope FDA cleared algorithms on the handheld device. With one test, the healthcare provider obtains two results:
- The likelihood a structural brain injury would be visible on a CT scan
- Evidence of brain function abnormality that would indicate a concussion
The BrainScope® assessment generates objective results that help clinicians determine whether the patient needs further testing such as CT, has experienced a concussion and should be referred to a specialist, and whether to discharge the patient from the ER.
Unlike CT scans—which detect brain bleeds, but are unable to detect concussions—BrainScope produces no ionizing radiation. A negative BrainScope test can aid in ruling out the need for a CT scan, reducing radiation exposure associated with a CT scan.
Healthcare professionals at Adventist Health locations in Kern County are trained to use the BrainScope® device that includes special features such as:
- Easy and portable: A small, non-invasive headset and handheld device measures brain electrical activity and neurocognitive function.
- Radiation-free: Screens for brain injury and concussion with this simple device to avoid a CT scan and unnecessary radiation. (Remember, a CT scan most likely won’t detect a concussion.)
- Accurate: EEG-based technology.
- Comprehensive: Objectively assesses all brain injury – including concussions.
- Convenient: Avoid the stress, expense and wait time of a typical trip to the local ER.
- Reliable: Quick answers and immediate treatment for optimal peace of mind.
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Adventist Health is a faith-based, nonprofit integrated health system serving more than 80 communities on the West Coast and Hawaii as well as others across the U.S. through its Blue Zones company, a pioneer in taking a systemic and environmental approach to improving the health of entire cities and communities. Through this work, Adventist Health is leading a 21st century well-being transformation movement. Founded on Seventh-day Adventist heritage and values, Adventist Health provides care in hospitals, clinics, its innovative Adventist Health Hospital@Home program that provides virtual in-patient care at home, home care agencies, hospice agencies and joint-venture retirement centers in both rural and urban communities. Our compassionate and talented team of 37,000 includes associates, medical staff physicians, allied health professionals and volunteers driven in pursuit of one mission: living God's love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope. Together, we are transforming the American healthcare experience with an innovative, yet timeless, whole-person focus on physical, mental, spiritual and social healing to support community well-being.
About BrainScope
BrainScope is a medical neurotechnology company that is improving brain health by providing objective, diagnostic insights that enable better patient care. BrainScope is leading the way in the rapid and objective assessment of brain-related conditions, starting with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), utilizing multiple integrated assessment capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI), and digitization. The company’s technology supports the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Choosing Wisely® campaign to avoid CT scans of the head in emergency department patients with minor head injury. BrainScope’s innovative neurotechnology platform uses EEG-based, AI-derived algorithms empowering physicians to quickly make accurate head injury assessments, addressing the full spectrum of traumatic brain injuries from structural (brain bleed) to functional (concussion) injuries, providing for the first time a full picture of the injury, and doing so in less time and without radiation. For more information, please visit www.brainscope.com.
