Imperial to lead new national hub to predict and prevent traumatic brain injury

Imperial College London will lead BRAIN-SAFE, a new research and partnership hub that will develop data-driven technologies to predict, prevent and manage traumatic brain injury (TBI).

The hub is one of five announced today by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which together receive more than £52 million from the UK government. 

TBI is the leading cause of death and disability in people under 40. Yet there is still no reliable way to tell how dangerous a head impact is, or when repeated blows become harmful. 

Our partnership with industry, governing bodies and charities gives us access to world-leading resources and large-scale data. It will also allow us to translate our findings rapidly, for instance by improving how helmets are assessed and how we identify who is at higher risk. Professor Mazdak Ghajari Professor of Brain Biomechanics in the Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London

Led by Professor David Sharp and Professor  Mazdak Ghajari, BRAIN-SAFE (Brain Research for Adaptive Traumatic Injury: Simulation, Assessment, Forecasting & Education) will focus on sport, transport and defence, where head impacts are common.

“I am excited to be leading BRAIN-SAFE with Mazdak Ghajari. This is the culmination of a long-term cross-disciplinary collaboration at Imperial that will deliver new convergent science by connecting neurological and engineering approaches to the study of traumatic brain injury,” said Professor Sharp, Professor of Neurology in the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London and Centre Director and Research Division Lead at the UK DRI Centre for Care Research & Technology. 

“The project will deliver new ways for people to keep track of their brain injury risk, which we hope will allow many to avoid significant long-term health problems.” 

Professor Mazdak Ghajari, Professor of Brain Biomechanics in the Dyson School of Design Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, and a co-director of the hub, said: “We currently cannot accurately measure the risk of brain injury in sport or road traffic collisions. Sensing technologies have progressed, allowing us to measure head motion in a fraction of a second. We now need models that can turn these measurements into an individual’s risk of brain injury.” 

From head impact to personal risk 

The hub will bring together engineers, neuroscientists, AI specialists, mathematicians and sports and behavioural scientists. Together they will build computer models that predict a person’s risk of brain injury after a head impact, taking into account factors such as age, sex and previous injuries. 

This is the culmination of a long-term cross-disciplinary collaboration at Imperial, that will deliver new convergent science by connecting neurological and engineering approaches to the study of traumatic brain injury Professor David Sharp Professor of Neurology in the Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London and Centre Director and Research Division Lead at the UK DRI Centre for Care Research & Technology

Researchers say the work could lead to real-time pitch-side alerts for potentially dangerous impacts in sport, car and smartphone crash data that alert paramedics to a likely brain injury, safer helmets, better vehicle safety ratings and improved military protection. 

“This project is a great example of convergence science for humanity,” said Professor Ghajari. “Our partnership with industry, governing bodies and charities gives us access to world-leading resources and large-scale data. It will also allow us to translate our findings rapidly, for instance by improving how helmets are assessed and how we identify who is at higher risk.”

BRAIN-SAFE builds on more than a decade of cross-faculty collaboration at Imperial that has already informed sports guidelines and road safety measures. Partners include the Royal Air Force, the Rugby Football League, the Rugby Football Union, Prem Rugby, Premiership Women’s Rugby, World Rugby, GB Boxing and Jaguar Land Rover. 

Building on proven results  

Summarising the programme, Professor Charlotte Deane, Executive Chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UKRI, said:

“These five new hubs will improve the lives and livelihoods of people and patients right across the UK. They build on the proven success of our previous hubs, which are already translating cutting-edge research into real benefits, advancing healthcare innovation, including the world’s first AI-assisted brain tumour surgery. By working closely with patients, the NHS and industry, we’re helping people live healthier lives and preventing ill health before it starts.” 

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