Advances in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Imaging Biomarkers

Purpose of Review: Imaging diagnosis and prognostication of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) remains elusive. The goal of this review is to highlight recent advancements in MR imaging biomarkers of mTBI. Recent Findings: Susceptibility-weighted imaging and quantitative susceptibility mapping are more sensitive for microhemorrhages than conventional T2* sequences and may allow semi-automated detection of these lesions. Alterations in fractional anisotropy in mTBI have been well described; however, recent data suggest a time-dependent directionality to these changes. Functional MRI studies have recently reported abnormal connectivity following mTBI. Recent advances in whole-brain MR spectroscopy have allowed the characterization of global changes in TBI. However, variability in acquisition and analysis has limited inferences and generalizability of results. Summary: While use of these techniques has advanced our understanding of mTBI, standardization in study design is needed. A large, multi-center, standardized study using these techniques could allow the translation of the methods from the research group level to the clinical individual level. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media New York.