New Haven, Connecticut, residents probably agree that of all the injuries that an individual may suffer, a brain injury may have the worst consequences. After suffering a traumatic brain injury, even ordinary tasks may suddenly become extremely challenging for an individual. Therefore, early diagnosis and effective treatment are very important. A recent development may do just that.

A Maryland-based research and development company has developed a mobile application that can help doctors identify traumatic brain injuries under almost all circumstances within a mere five minutes. The Defense Automated Neurobehavioral Assessment, or DANA, recently received an approval from the Federal Food and Drug Administration.

DANA works like a videogame. A person being tested for brain injury would be required to perform a set of baseline on-screen exercises and the application will record the speed and accuracy of the responses. The person then has to answer self-administered questionnaires and take cognitive efficiency tests. Once the tests are completed, doctors would review the results and compare those with the baseline exercises. The results should be able to help a doctor identify both post-traumatic stress disorder as well as a traumatic brain injury.

As already mentioned, brain injuries are difficult to live with but early diagnosis can still help. However, medical treatment is often long-term and expensive. Therefore, if a person suffered a brain injury due to an incident where another party was to blame, the victim might want to consider hiring an attorney. With legal action, it may be possible for that victim to obtain compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering.

Source: C4ISRNet.com, “FDA clears traumatic brain injury diagnosis app,” Anthony Ware, Jan. 8, 2015