Inside The Panthers

Pitt Leads Breakthrough in Concussion Research

The Pitt Panthers could soon be one of many to benefit from their own university's concussion research.

Stephen Thompson

Feb 19, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; The University of Pittsburgh pep band herald trumpets
Feb 19, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; The University of Pittsburgh pep band herald trumpets / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The same university that birthed the polio vaccine has engineered another medical breakthrough. And as the University of Pittsburgh pioneers new developments in the world of concussion detection and treatment, it could have lasting effects on the Pitt Panthers' teams.

According to a report from Abby Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Dr. David Okonkwo, a professor of neurological surgery at Pitt, has created an FDA approved a lad-quality device of his team's creation that is capable of detecting concussions quickly. It could be used in hospitals, in the field and, potentially, on the sidelines of football games and other sporting events.

The device, called the i-STAT Alinity, is the next evolution of a device Okonkwo's team had already researched. The i-STAT TBI was similar to the Alinity in that it took bood samples and tested them to diagnose concussion rapidly, but it was limited in scope and use because it took blood serum samples, which had to be processed via centrifuge in a lab. The Alinity takes whole blood samples and doesn't require a lab or centrifuge to process, according to Okonkwo.

According to Mackey's reporting, the Alinity is able to rule out concussions with 96.5% accuracy when patients are assessed within 24 hours of injury and could tell if a CT scan to rule out bleeding in the brain is necessary.

Abbott, the company that manufactures the device, predicts that it will be available for use in emergency rooms and urgent care centers this summer and could begin being used by the United States military at the same time. It hasb't been adopted by health care systems or insurers just yet but Abbott expects it will eventually be treated like any other routine blood diagnostic test.

That said, the use on the sidelines at football games and other sporting events will not come as soon for the Alinity.

“The nature of the studies performed to gain FDA clearance for these tests were done in patients brought to level one trauma centers,” Dr. Okonkwo said. “We have every reason to believe there is significant overlap with the injuries to athletes who sustain a concussion, but we need to do studies specifically in that patient population to confirm that use.”

The device is currently approved for use on patients 18 and older but it will have to gain approval from sports leagues, players' unions and individual teams before it finds its way into the spotlight for big time college or professional sports.

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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