Traumatic Brain Injury

TBI is a complex disease process (Masel BE & DeWitt DS, 2010) and several studies have demonstrated that long-term functional and structural changes take place up to one year after TBI ^{1, 2, 3}.

emka TECHNOLOGIES solutions allow short and long-term acquisition of various physiological parameters in animals models of TBI (rodents, swine, dogs, non-human primates, etc), such as EEG, EMG, Blood pressure, Respiration and Activity. Our instruments help researchers better understand the pathological mechanisms and explore novel therapeutic options.

1-  Smith DH, et al. Progressive atrophy and neuron death for one year following brain trauma in the rat. J Neurotrauma. 1997; 14:715–727
2- Kochanek PM, et al. Cerebral blood flow at one year after controlled cortical impact in rats: assessment by magnetic resonance imaging. J Neurotrauma. 2002; 19:1029–1037.
3- Liu YR, et al. Progressive metabolic and structural cerebral perturbations after traumatic brain injury: an in vivo imaging study in the rat. J Nucl Med. 2010; 51:1788–1795.

Implantable telemetry options

Wireless technology permits a constant transfer of high volumes of digital data from freely moving animals. The advantages associated with this technique are well established; higher quality data obtained from naturally behaving subjects, which reliably captures detailed physiological events. Powerful software helps researchers comb through the data and analyze their subject’s response.

Various sized options are available in our implantable telemetry systems, all being able to collect EEG, ECG, EMG, Blood pressure, temperature and activity continuously during several weeks or months.

Non-invasive telemetry options

Non-invasive systems can also be used to collect neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory changes due to insult or injury. In external telemetry studies, subjects are equipped with an external transmitter housed in a jacket or a helmet. Physiological measurements are captured non-invasively and wirelessly transmitted by Bluetooth, to a receiver.

Impact on lung function

Experimental studies have shown that lung injury is likely to occur shortly after brain damage. After a brain injury, breathing patterns can easily be assessed using plethysmographs, a non-invasive solution. When further insights into the lungs are needed or when the assistance of a ventilator is required, comprehensive respiratory mechanics measurements can be acquired using invasive approaches such as the forced oscillation technique.