Concussion

Concussion has become a driving force behind forensic neuropsychology practice. This chapter offers vivid, concise, accessible strategies that seasoned forensic experts use in explaining concussion to jurors. Specific topics include explaining the pathophysiology of concussion, how a concussion is diagnosed, posttraumatic amnesia, Glasgow Coma Scale scores, the difference between head injury and brain injury, the typical symptoms of concussion and expected recovery course, the sports as a laboratory research model, problems with the concept of “postconcussion syndrome,” differentiating the literature on chronic traumatic encephalopathy and concussion, and discussing the persistent idea of a “15% miserable minority.” The chapter also provides strategies for explaining alternative narratives as to why a person might feel they have persistent symptoms months or years following a concussion, including diagnosis threat, misattribution, iatrogenesis, “the grass is greener” phenomenon, litigation effects, medication effects, and emotional factors.

Wearable Carbon Nanotube-Based Biosensors on Gloves for Lactate

Developing a simple and direct approach for interfacing a sensor and a target analyte is of great interest for fields such as medical diagnosis, threat detection, food quality control, and environmental monitoring. Gloves provide a unique interface for sensing applications. Here, we show for the first time the development of wearable carbon nanotube (CNT)-based amperometric biosensors painted onto gloves as a new sensing platform, used here for the determination of lactate. Three sensor types were studied, configured as: two CNT electrodes; one CNT electrode, and an Ag/AgCl electrode, and two CNT electrodes and an Ag/AgCl electrode. The sensors are constructed by painting the electrodes using CNT or Ag/AgCl inks. By immobilizing lactate oxidase onto the CNT-based working electrodes, the sensors show sensitive detections of lactate. Comparison of sensor performance shows that a combination of CNT and Ag/AgCl is necessary for highly sensitive detection. We anticipate that these findings could open exciting avenues for fundamental studies of wearable bioelectronics, as well as practical applications in fields such as healthcare and defense.