Carestream and Buffalo Bills Kick Off Collaboration Focusing On Early Detection Of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Carestream Health and the Buffalo Bills have entered into an agreement that will aid Carestream’s development of advanced medical imaging technology designed to help with earlier detection and monitoring of brain injuries.

This partnership focuses on the need for new technology to help address key concerns in sports medicine, particularly those related to head injuries including:

• Early diagnosis and accurate assessment of injured areas;
• Development of medical standards that indicate if an athlete can return to play; and
• Research that can assist in early diagnosis of long-term degenerative medical conditions in the head and brain.

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) or a concussion is a serious injury resulting from a blow to the head, which can affect physical, cognitive and emotional behavior. Symptoms may include clumsiness, nausea, confusion, blurry vision and headaches, and some concussions can lead to long-term health problems. A TBI can occur on the athletic field, on the battlefield, at the playground, in a car accident or even at home.

“The NFL supports initiatives that will help us better understand the impact of traumatic brain injuries and the effect on players’ health, with the goal of advancing sports medicine to provide better care for all athletes,” said Russ Brandon, President & CEO, Buffalo Bills. “This collaboration is an important step that will help with this effort.”

The agreement with the Buffalo Bills builds on plans between Carestream and Johns Hopkins University for research and development of new 3D imaging systems, including a cone beam CT system developed for musculoskeletal radiology and orthopaedic imaging of extremities, with applications ranging from traumatic injury to arthritis and osteoporosis. Carestream and Johns Hopkins plan to expand their collaboration to include new systems for imaging of TBI to support Carestream’s product development activities that could help improve the diagnosis and treatment of head injuries. 

“The prevalence and severity of TBI has come dramatically to light in the last decade,” said Dr. Jeffrey H. Siewerdsen, PhD FAAPM, Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. “Our work will create a system capable of detecting TBI at the point of care, leveraging a major advance in imaging capability to confidently diagnose subtle brain injury and direct patients to appropriate therapy, avoid repeat injury and stem the debilitating effects of undetected disease.”

Carestream has installed a new CARESTREAM DRX-Ascend System and a DIRECTVIEW CR System at Ralph Wilson Stadium to enable the Buffalo Bills staff to use the company’s latest medical imaging technology. Instant access to X-ray images helps medical staff and athletic trainers determine whether a player can return to a game or a practice session, or if further treatment is necessary. In use at hospitals around the world, these systems provide high quality images while reducing radiation exposure, and enable medical professionals to quickly review images which can lead to faster treatment decisions.

“By working with clinicians and sports medicine experts to obtain information that will aid in our development of advanced medical imaging solutions for head and other injuries, we have an opportunity to apply our expertise to help improve the lives of athletes and people in our communities,” said Diana L. Nole, President, Digital Medical Solutions, Carestream.

Carestream also will make its market-leading CARESTREAM DRX-Revolution Mobile X-ray System available for use by the Buffalo Bills staff during their regular season game played in Toronto. The DRX-Revolution combines high image quality with the ability to capture medical images of players while in the training room or on the sidelines. Because of its advanced functionality, the DRX-Revolution is often referred to as an “X-ray room on wheels.”

For more information on Carestream’s comprehensive portfolio of digital radiography imaging systems, please visit www.carestream.com.

####

About Carestream Health
Carestream is a worldwide provider of dental and medical imaging systems and IT solutions; X-ray imaging systems for non-destructive testing and advanced materials for the precision films and electronics markets. For more information about the company’s broad portfolio of products, solutions and services, please contact your Carestream representative or call 888-777-2072, or visit www.carestream.com.

Founded in 1959, the Buffalo Bills are one of the most storied franchises in the National Football League (NFL). The Bills have won two American Football League (AFL) Championships (1964 - 1965) and won an NFL record four straight AFC Championships (1990 - 1993) that included four trips to the Super Bowl. The Bills are a progressive organization and pride themselves on the regionalization of their team. They hold their training camp in Rochester, NY and were the first NFL team ever to play a home game in Canada with the Bills Toronto Series that began in 2008. As Western New York’s top-rated sports and entertainment choice, the Bills annually entertain three quarters of a million fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium

CARESTREAM is a trademark of Carestream Health