MEGAbIT The Role of OPM MEG in Assessment and Diagnosis In mTBI. An Observational Study

Head injuries are responsible for 1.4 million visits to hospital each year in the United Kingdom (UK). Most patients are allowed home the same day and make a full recovery, but some will have persistent symptoms. The investigators aim to use the latest generation of imaging technology to investigate those with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) to better assess them.

The investigators will invite patients presenting following trauma to the Emergency Department at Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK to participate. The investigators will compare those who have a suffered an mTBI to those who have non-head traumatic injuries. The investigators will use two magnetoencephalogram (MEG) systems and ultra-high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to record the functioning and structure of the brain within days of participants' injury. The investigators will test memory and thinking skills, then follow participants for six months, record the severity of participants' symptoms, and find out who does not make a full recovery.

Multimodal imaging will consist of a standard MEG device using Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) sensors, a novel MEG device using Optically Pumped Magnetometer (OPM) sensors and seven Tesla MRI. The investigators will test whether these innovative imaging techniques are more sensitive to the acute damage that mTBI causes than routine imaging. The investigators will also test whether early imaging can reveal who is most seriously affected, identifying those who will not recover without additional support. It is currently not clear what the predominant mechanism of damage that causes these long-term problems is and the investigators hope this study will address this. The Medical Research Council is funding this work