Conan MedTech: Diagnosing Concussions Immediately
Bayan A. Alturkestani, founder and CEO of Conan MedTech had her “Aha!” moment while working on testing a potential drug for treating mild Traumatic Brain Injury also known as concussion and studying its effect on motor function in 2019: What would be the point, she wondered, in developing drugs to immediately treat concussion victims, if the concussions cannot be immediately diagnosed? Eventually this experience led to her decision to start working on developing a diagnostic device that can detect the mTBI/concussion quickly, easily, and non-invasively and that’s how Conan MedTech was born.
Concussions, often referred to as mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs), affect 69 million individuals worldwide. Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) is a common occurrence in a variety of contexts including sports, military exercises, natural disasters and vehicular accidents. Over 4 million sports or recreational activities-related concussions occur annually in the United States alone, and approximately half of these involve children and adolescents.
Current diagnosis of mTBI include the Glasgow Coma Test, along with CT scans which are subjective and not able to show any signs of concussion, and blood tests which require a lab/hospital setting to be performed and can take a few days for results to come out. That is why Conan created the Real Time Concussion Detection which allows you to use your saliva to quickly detect for initial concussion without the need to go to a hospital.
1) The Conan product provides quick and accurate results eliminating the need to wait in the ER
2) The portable, non-invasive device means that patient doesn’t need to leave the game to diagnose their injury
3) The high accuracy prevents patients from wasting time & costs
In 2020, her concept won the first place award at a Washington, D.C., entrepreneurship competition sponsored by the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. In 2021, she was selected as one of the Top 100 Healthcare Leaders at the International Forum on Advancements in Healthcare in Las Vegas.
“For a very reasonable cost, in less than 15 minutes doctors or athletic trainers will know if an athlete is concussed and whether they can safely resume playing or should be kept out of the game,” said Alturkestani.
“I’m excited about the potential to reduce the risk of repeated concussions that, over time, can lead to debilitating, often fatal brain trauma,” she said.