Oculometric screening for traumatic brain injury in veterans

Abstract

A collaborative project between Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS), Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC), and neuroFit Inc., was developed to: 1) assess the efficacy of the Comprehensive Oculometric Behavioral Response Assessment (COBRA) as a screening method for mild-to-moderate Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in veterans, and 2) evaluate the usability of the neuroFit Oculometric Neurological Examination (ONE) device in military medical facilities. COBRA metrics used to characterize oculometric signs associated with TBI came from two published samples: a 41-subject control sample and a 34-subject civilian TBI sample comprised of mild (loss of consciousness (LOC)<30 min), moderate (30 min<LOC<24 h), and severe (LOC>24 h) TBIs. The control sample was compared to the eight-subject veteran TBI sample (age range: 27–55 years; 8 males) from the VAPAHCS, comprised of mild (n=7) and moderate (n=1) TBI diagnoses and posttraumatic amnesia (PTA) (n=4). Results demonstrated a significant (p = .02) difference between the control and veteran TBI samples. COBRA metrics accurately detected TBIs at a rate of 77%. Results indicate the COBRA method is viable for TBI screening in military medical facilities and may be suitable for diagnosing chronic visual problems related to mild and moderate TBI.