Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) Diagnosis
Mild traumatic brain injury is the clinical term for the injury most people call a concussion. NeuroLUX evaluates mTBI with objective testing, especially when standard imaging doesn't explain a patient's symptoms.
mTBI and “Concussion”: Same Injury, Different Language
Mild traumatic brain injury, or mTBI, is the clinical and diagnostic term for the injury most people refer to as a concussion. Both describe the same underlying event: a disruption of brain function caused by trauma, without the kind of structural damage that shows up as bleeding or a visible lesion on standard imaging. “Concussion” tends to be the term used in everyday conversation; “mild traumatic brain injury” is the term used in medical records, diagnostic coding, and legal documentation.
The word “mild” refers to the initial severity classification, typically based on factors like Glasgow Coma Scale score and duration of any loss of consciousness. It does not mean the injury is minor or that its effects are guaranteed to be short-lived. mTBI can still produce symptoms that meaningfully affect a person's ability to work, concentrate, sleep, or manage daily responsibilities.
Why Standard Imaging Is Often Normal
One of the more difficult aspects of mTBI is that standard CT and MRI imaging is frequently normal, even when the injury and its symptoms are very real. These imaging modalities are built to detect structural abnormalities: bleeding, swelling, fractures, and larger lesions. mTBI is, by definition, primarily a functional injury, involving changes at the level of brain cell communication that conventional imaging isn't designed to capture. A normal scan rules out certain serious complications; it doesn't rule out mTBI itself.
The Range of mTBI Symptoms
Symptoms following mTBI span several categories and often overlap. Cognitively, patients may notice slowed processing speed, difficulty with attention, or memory lapses. Physically, common symptoms include headache, dizziness, balance problems, and sensitivity to light or noise. Emotionally, mTBI can bring irritability, anxiety, or reduced tolerance for stress. Symptoms can appear in any combination, and their intensity doesn't necessarily track with how forceful the original incident looked from the outside.
NeuroLUX's Diagnostic Approach
Our physician team, Dr. Vikas Pandey and Dr. Sima Nekoui, approaches mTBI diagnosis by starting with a comprehensive neurological exam and detailed symptom history. When a patient's symptoms aren't fully explained by prior standard imaging, or when objective documentation is needed for ongoing care or a legal case, we add further testing: EEG or qEEG to evaluate the brain's electrical activity, neurocognitive testing, and DTI MRI when a conventional MRI came back unremarkable but symptoms persist.
NeuroLUX evaluates mTBI in our Irving clinic, through secure tele-neurology, and through mobile EEG/qEEG testing for patients across Dallas, Houston, and Texas statewide who are unable to travel in.