New test could revolutionise AFL concussion rule

Sports players could return to the field within minutes of a major head knock thanks to a revolutionary test that can diagnose concussion almost instantly.

A finger prick blood test may soon be able to show whether a person has concussion within minutes of an injury.

The Australian development is hoped to clear the way for sports players to return to the field shortly after a head knock, or identify those suffering brain injuries so they can be safely managed.

Following the discovery of telltale biomarkers that can be detected in the blood of concussion victims, Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital has undertaken early trials as proof of concept for a finger-prick test – similar to those used to measure blood sugar.

As well as having the potential to revolutionise the management of concussion for AFL and other sporting codes, the high-level research is being funded by the Australian ­Defence Force in the hope it can help injured soldiers ­return to the battlefield.

The US military is also trialling the technology being developed by The Alfred, Sydney-based biotech start-up GLIA Diagnostics and the ­Adelaide-based CSIRO.

The impact of head trauma on players has been at the forefront of the AFL’s agenda in recent years. Picture: Sarah Reed

The Alfred’s director of emergency medicine research Biswadev Mitra said the blood test had the potential to ­become the first objective way to diagnose concussion, ending the need to have all head-knock victims sitting out their sport for weeks without being sure of their injuries.

“It is quite advanced and we are to the level of building a small machine that can detect concussion,” Professor Mitra said. “(Now) when somebody hits their head and presents to their doctors a lot of it is very subjective, sometimes guesswork.

“Our aim is to develop a screening tool, where we can say at the point of care – the playing field, the battlefield or wherever – that you do not have a severe head injury or chance of concussion. We think it will take five to 10 minutes to run at the max.”

An early prototype of the test was able to detect concussion during a trial of 60 ­patients at The Alfred, however, it has so far taken several hours to analyse each test.

The Alfred’s director of emergency medicine research Professor Biswadev Mitra said the blood test had a lot of potential. Picture: Supplied

What a finger prick blood test device could look like. Picture: Supplied

But a CSIRO team led by Dr Helmut Thissen is now adapting its testing technology to run the Alfred’s biomarkers, and GLIA Diagnostics director Edmond Sorich believes a handheld, fast prototype will be ready for large-scale trials by mid-2022.

“The gold standard is a four to six-hour chemistry … we are taking that into a technology that will produce the same result in less than 15 minutes,” Mr Sorich said.

University of Montana scientists discovered a class of molecules called microRNA which were involved in brain healing. Mr Sorich licensed the discovery and brought it to Australia for further development, enlisting The Alfred as clinical partners.

In a 2015 study Professor Mitra’s team was able to further focus on six of the microRNAs identified in 30 concussion patients, before verifying the results while using them as a screening tool in a further 60-patient study.

The US military has also provided samples from 400 troops who suffered head knocks to be tested for the biomarkers, however, the results are still being analysed.

The ADF has backed the ­research with a $1.5m Defence Innovation Hub grant, to help Australian troops.

Professor Mitra says the breakthrough will have a huge benefit in protecting people from immediate and long-term impacts of concussion, regardless of where they are injured.

“We never want to put a player or a soldier back in the field when they still have the effects of concussion,” he said.

Originally published as New test could revolutionise AFL concussion rule