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MEG Scanner Can Detect Mild/Moderate TBI

While MRI can detect brain swelling/compression and CT can detect brain bleeding, neither type of scanner can find small traumatic brain lesions involving torn axons. So many mild and some moderate traumatic brain injuries remain invisible. However, a team of researchers at UC San Diego is making use of a new high tech scanner called MEG (magneto-encephalography) that makes these invisible brain injuries visible. MEG pinpoints damaged areas of the brain by showing sites with low frequency brainwaves.

The researcher in charge of the ongoing research project is Mingxiong Huang, associate director of UC San Diego’s MEG Radiology Imaging Laboratory. In a June 1, 2011, interview he said MEG can also be used to diagnose PTSD.