Concussion

Why study concussion?

Anyone – from infants to the elderly – can experience a concussion. Approximately 150,000 people are affected by concussion every year in Ontario alone.

Concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (mild TBI) is a brain injury caused by impact to the head, neck, or body. Concussion can happen to anyone-anywhere: a slip and fall from an icy sidewalk, a motor vehicle collision, an errant ball during sport, a workplace injury, or even through intimate partner violence, and can significantly affect an individual’s quality of life.

Though our understanding of concussion has greatly improved over the years, research to-date primarily focused on high-performance athletes or military veterans and too many gaps in knowledge remain. There is a pressing need to enhance our ability to diagnose concussion quickly and accurately to better manage symptoms over time. Concussion treatments must evolve from “one-size fits all” protocols to a future of personalized care in which the right treatment is tailored for the right patient at the right time, guided by individual unique patient characteristics and biological markers to optimize outcomes.

TRANSCENDENT: Transforming Research by Assessing Neuroinformatics across the Spectrum of Concussion by Embedding iNterdisciplinary Data-collection to Enable Novel Treatments

The team at TRANSCENDENT aims to transform healing across the spectrum of concussion. Driven by Canada's top priority questions identified by patients, caregivers and front-line providers, this network will utilize cutting-edge assessments including physiological evaluations, fluid biomarkers and advanced neuroimaging to improve the diagnosis and reliably track concussion recovery. The discoveries from TRANSCENDENT will advance treatment of concussion from all causes, across the general population with a global reach and impact.

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Sharing the future of research with patient priorities

Priority Setting Partnerships help to aim to shape the future of research by bringing patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals together to identify and prioritize unanswered questions in order to guide research funding.

A team of patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers - including members of TRANSCENDENT - recently worked together to identify research priorities in concussion. Their process united thoughts and ideas from people affected by concussion across Canada with different experiences and backgrounds.

Fostering excellence in concussioncare across the entire patient spectrum

Concussion is the most common brain injury impacting 400,000 Canadians annually, yet research to date has primarily focused on professional and high-performance athletes or military veterans, with little effort to integrate data collection across the full spectrum of patients. This siloed approach has greatly restricted the potential for new discoveries in brain health and insights related to individualized recovery plans. Now, a groundbreaking research collaboration between the CHEO Research Institute, 360 Concussion Care, and OBI aims to transform concussion care globally, advancing knowledge and treatment across the full spectrum of impacted patients.

Impact of our work

Sharing the future of research with patient priorities

Priority Setting Partnerships help to aim to shape the future of research by bringing patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals together to identify and prioritize unanswered questions in order to guide research funding.

A team of patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers - including members of TRANSCENDENT - recently worked together to identify research priorities in concussion. Their process united thoughts and ideas from people affected by concussion across Canada with different experiences and backgrounds.