Targeting Neural Injury
Current TBI diagnostic techniques rely on cognitive evaluations together with non-contrast based imaging techniques (e.g. magnetic resonance imaging; computed tomography) to identify gross morphological tissue alterations predominately associated with severe TBIs (e.g. hemorrhage, anisotropic tissue density, water content); however, these non-contrast based imaging modalities do little to detect the more acute alterations that occur at the molecular/cellular level. Therefore, there is a critical unmet need to develop imaging probes that are sensitive to the molecular pathologies associated with TBI. Such technology will not only enhance the sensitivity of diagnostic imaging for TBI, but also the time frame in which diagnosis occurs.
