I guess it would mean that the damage we have will finally show up. Current machines are 1.5 tesla. Besides doctor not being able to tell us we're fine, what other practical use of seeing the damage would there be.

Insurance and disability would easier to get.

Would it help lead to innovative treatments?

My visual test indicated damage to certain parts of the brain, hence they asked me to do vestibular therapy. but my neuro still said at least there's nothing wrong with your brain because of negative mri.

When I confronted him about visual tests results he said "oh there is organic damage we cant see." lol

At least I got that out of him,

Having visual confirmation of our injuries would make a HUGE difference.

In addition to easing our path with doctors and insurers, it would help eliminate the guilt some patients harbour that they might, somehow, be malingerers.

Concrete proof of TBI might also encourage research and treatment. After all, doctors can't work on a cure, if they won't acknowledge the problem.

Bring it on.

I doubt the high res MRI would change much. They are used for research. Old injuries would not show up as the damaged tissue would have been absorbed long ago. A fMRI would probably show more. A DTI mri also can image some subtle damage.

3 Tesla MRI's are not uncommon. It takes about 6 Tesla to see the damage common to concussions.

The problem is that imaging the damage does not change the treatment because there are not any treatments of much value besides OT, ST, and VT and the things we do for ourselves.

Why is this even a topic of discussion ? There are only a few high Tesla MRI's in the world. They cost a quarter of a billion dollars ($250,000,000 to $270,000,000) each.

If one of us asked for an MRI in one of these expensive MRI systems, I bet the doctor would Laugh Out Loud.

I suppose it's a topic because a member, and we are all equal members, found it interesting.

Not to put words into the original poster's mouth, but I'm assuming he was not as much concerned with the technical specificity and/or current cost of Telsa MRI's, as he was with the idea of finding someway, someday of imaging the invisible injury.

Anyone who has tangled with a car insurance lawyer knows this would be invaluable. When I was injured, the forces of darkness couldn't deny my spinal cord injury, broken bones, cracked ribs, dislocated shoulder, etc... but my brain injury - the injury that had most altered my life, for the worst, could be disputed because the bleeds on my MRI had cleared.

A diagnostic test, that could image the kind of damage, now only evident at autopsy, could lead to insurance settlements that did not condemn mva victims to financial ruin.

Yes, treatments for TBI are limited. However, faced with incredulity from doctors, who can't SEE the injury, many patients aren't even getting access to what is available. Nor are effective treatments likely to be developed so long as inadequate imaging stands in the way of acknowledgement and understanding.

As for doctors laughing people of the room for requesting testing, many already do that, because they can't see the injury. I think most patients yearn for a method to image their injury because, if nothing else, it would stop doctors from treating us contemptuously.

Given the complexity of the brain, I suspect most TBI patients accept that a "cure" is not on the immediate horizon. In the interim, however, I feel that many of us dream of an imaging technology that would lead to our being treated with compassion and respect. As we don't often find that at the doctor's office, it would be nice if we could always find it when we post here.

Only topics that are against the guidelines are not allowed.

Members are free to create topics of interest to them and invite commentary from others, provided the topic is within guidelines.
This topic is.

I absolutely agree with Hockey and markneil about just wanting to have "proof" of brain injury that would appease those doctors who are of the, " if the MRI is negative, there isn't an injury" school of thought. I have had my share of bad Neurologists who told me my confusion and cognitive issues were either due to meds or my "behaving like I had a serious head injury", and denied me access to other health care professionals (Speech therapist) because they thought I didn't need this.

I finally got my proof with the Neuropsychology testing, but I fear without this I would never have gotten the right diagnosis and been made to feel like a fool or worse yet, a malingerer out to get attention or monetary gain. Who knows how my life would be like without the validation I needed to prove what I already knew was true; I was not and am not the same person I was before the accident.

Thank God for the other medical professionals who "believed" me, and allowed me to get the tests and rehab I needed to get this far. Sometimes, all we're looking for is the validation in the face of so many so- called professionals who are all too quick to pass judgement. They should hope they are never put in a position where their integrity is questioned time and again because there is no proof of their injury in the eyes of the clinician they relied on for answers.

Thank God for Neuropsychology testing, one of the "proofs" the medical world can use to show the injury and its devastating effects on our lives. Take care, M-i-m

Dr. D. Amen MD uses PET scans to
Image brain damage. His books
And PBS shows also have his ideas about
Damage and healing based on his recent
Studies with brain damaged athletes.
Dr. Amen shows PET imaging of
Brains on "drugs" as well-- showing sobering
Consequences.

Dr. Amen has always been controversial
But I find now after many years his
Work is worth looking into.

BTW... I looked up some high Tesla sites,
And it appears that safety issues are huge
Past 3 Tesla levels.

That will take some time and money before
Thinking about human applications.

Sorry I can't link from this little iPhone.

My concern is that getting hopeful about something as remote as a 12 Tesla MRI can cause a misdirection of efforts. Yes, this is a free forum but there is a tendency to chase after pipe dreams in search of the magic pill or treatment.

We need to try to live in the here and now rather than in the stressful world of what could be. The here and now has enough stress.

Hope is valuable but hope needs to be kept within a responsible realm. Doctors already discount our complaints. Seeking a high Tesla MRI risks putting that relationship in greater jeopardy.