The New TBI/PTSD Treatment Super Machine

The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center said it started using an advanced medical machine from Siemens approved by the Food and Drug Administration this June to diagnose and treat traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder among military service members and civilians.

The gizmo, called a Biograph mMR (molecular magnetic resonance) machine, combines the functions of a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine into one humongous package, which looks about the size of a small car.

Dr. David Bluemke, director of the NIH Clinical Center Radiology and Imaging Sciences, said the Biograph mMR "combines the two most powerful imaging tools . . . The MRI points us to abnormalities in the body, and the PET tells us the metabolic activity of that abnormality, be it a damaged part of the brain or a tumor. This will be a major change for many patients."

The new device makes patient care swifter and safer, he said. The faster turnaround time and more comprehensive results will help diagnose patients at an earlier stage of disease, leading to better outcomes, Bluemke said.

The purchase of the Biograph mMR was made possible through the Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, a Defense Department-funded collaboration between NIH and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The CNRM carries out research in TBI and PTSD that would benefit troops treated at Walter Reed National Navy Medical Center, near the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md.