Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions of people each year. It is usually caused by a blow to the head that disrupts the brain’s normal function. Despite the volume of cases seen in hospitals and clinics, the TBI diagnosis is vague and inexact.
“We call it mild, moderate and severe,” says Dr. Christine Mac Donald, a professor of neurological surgery at UW Medicine. “Think about cancer: We don't call it mild cancer when you get diagnosed. We describe it by its organ and its stage, and often even (by) genotype.”
In a paper recently published in The Lancet Neurology, Mac Donald and research colleagues provided recommendations to move away from generic descriptions of TBI, and toward more patient-centered diagnoses.
“We hope that this actually will really revolutionize how we diagnose TBI,” she said. “Characterizing it by the CBI-M framework of clinical features, blood biomarkers, imaging features and recovery modifiers will standardize how providers diagnose this complex injury.”
Ultimately, Mac Donald said, more precise terminology will improve patients’ outcomes worldwide.
“Our goal with this paper and all the work we do is to try to advance healthcare to make sure that, if that unfortunate day comes and you have a brain injury, we are poised to take care of you to the best of our ability.”
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions of people each year. It is usually caused by a blow to the head that disrupts the brain’s normal function. Despite the volume of cases seen in hospitals and clinics, the TBI diagnosis is vague and inexact.
“We call it mild, moderate and severe,” says Dr. Christine Mac Donald, a professor of neurological surgery at UW Medicine. “Think about cancer: We don't call it mild cancer when you get diagnosed. We describe it by its organ and its stage, and often even (by) genotype.”
In a paper recently published in The Lancet Neurology, Mac Donald and research colleagues provided recommendations to move away from generic descriptions of TBI, and toward more patient-centered diagnoses.
“We hope that this actually will really revolutionize how we diagnose TBI,” she said. “Characterizing it by the CBI-M framework of clinical features, blood biomarkers, imaging features and recovery modifiers will standardize how providers diagnose this complex injury.”
Ultimately, Mac Donald said, more precise terminology will improve patients’ outcomes worldwide.
“Our goal with this paper and all the work we do is to try to advance healthcare to make sure that, if that unfortunate day comes and you have a brain injury, we are poised to take care of you to the best of our ability.”
