Potential for Wearable Sensor-Based Field-Deployable Diagnosis and Monitoring of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Neuroscience
• Sports Medicine

Background:

• Commercial wearable sensors like accelerometers and heart monitors show potential in distinguishing mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) from healthy controls.
• Despite this potential, there is no established consensus on the optimal wearable sensor-derived metrics for objective mTBI symptom identification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review mapping the current knowledge on wearable sensor-based assessments for mTBI.
• To identify and summarize existing research on the use of wearable technology for mTBI evaluation.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was performed using Web of Science and PubMed.
• Included studies required a clinical diagnosis of mTBI, an uninjured control group, and the use of at least one body-worn digital sensor.
• 21 studies were selected for analysis after screening 507 articles.

Main Results:

• Multiple physiological metrics derived from wearable sensors demonstrated differences between individuals with mTBI and controls.
• Metrics related to static balance, gait, and postural changes influencing autonomic nervous system responses showed notable diagnostic accuracy in retrospective analyses.
• Specific metrics showed acceptable to outstanding accuracy in identifying mTBI indicators.

Conclusions:

• Wearable sensor data, particularly concerning balance and autonomic responses, shows promise for mTBI diagnosis.
• Further prospective studies with large, diverse cohorts are essential to develop standardized protocols.
• Improved models are required to achieve sufficient sensitivity and specificity for mTBI diagnosis in specific populations.