Awarded in 2014
Home Department: Bioengineering
Faculty Advisors: David Camarillo (Bioengineering), Gerald Grant (Neurosurgery), and Joyce Liao (Ophthalmology)

Research Title: A real-time screening tool for mild traumatic brain injury

Research Description: ~3 million sports-related concussions occur in the US annually. Although symptoms such as dizziness subside within a few days, repeated concussions may cause permanent brain damage. To prevent repeated injuries, legislations require removal from play if an athlete sustains head trauma. However, such legislations cannot be enforced due to severe under-reporting of injuries. Lyndia proposes to use an instrumented mouthguard for real-time screening of head trauma. Preliminary studies demonstrated accurate detection of head impacts and found promising correlation between mouthguard measurements and brain deficits. She will further develop this technology to allow more reliable and timely diagnosis of mTBI (mild traumatic brain injury).

WHERE IS SHE NOW?

Lyndia is an assistant professor in the mechanical engineering department at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.