Around 54 million to 60 million people throughout the world are annually surviving with Traumatic Brain Injury annually. CT scan tests of the head are the common diagnostic choices in such cases. This extensive use of CT scans leads to unnecessary radiation exposure with high costs.

A research study conducted by the Wayne State University School of Medicine revealed that a new blood biomarker test could help in confirming the absence of intracranial injuries. Two biomarkers named Ubiquitin Carboxy-terminal Hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1) and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) can be detected in the blood if there is a brain injury. Hence, one can avoid opting for costly a CT scan. This research was published in The Lancet Neurology on July 24^th, 2018.  

Robert Welch, M.D., M.S., the Brooks F. Bock, M.D., the Endowed Professor of Emergency Medicine from Wayne State University said, "This study is exciting for a few reasons. This is the largest study of any biomarker for TBI that has been performed in the United States and provides robustness of the findings compared to many earlier smaller studies; Our results were the basis for the first FDA approved blood biomarker panel that will aid in the diagnosis and care of patients with mild TBI. To a certain degree, this has been a holy grail for quite some time."

Welch further added, "Once a commercially available product is released, I suspect these two biomarkers will become an important component of clinical care of patients with head injury and suspected TBI."