Major medical breakthrough as British troops will get mobile brain scans to measure what explosions do to the brain after years of mystery over the long-term effects of bombs on personnel
British troops will be able to undergo mobile battlefield brain scans after being close to combat blasts or other explosions during training. The world’s first-ever mobile head scanner is being built by UK scientists to assess the effect of exposure to bombs on soldiers, sailors or air personnel.
Thousands of troops may suffer brain damage after being exposed to blast waves from the British military’s own weaponry. But because the immediate effect of blasts on the brain disappears soon after the incident but may have a long-term adverse result a mobile unit was needed.
Recently the MoD confirmed weapons systems can cause mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI). The MoD’s lead on TBI has admitted repeated exposure to blasts can injure the brain and lead to life‑long health conditions.
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Lt Col James Mitchell said in a recent interview: “If we go back 20 years to the early Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns the perception was that we were seeing concussion and mild Traumatic Brain Injury predominantly from impact and exposure to substantial blast.
“Over especially the last five to ten years we are starting to appreciate the role of what we call ‘low level blast’, this is predominantly exposure of our service personnel to blast overpressure from our own weapon systems.”
The Mirror understands the scanning machine should be available within months – possibly as soon as in March 2026. Costing £3.1m the first easily-transportable non-invasive measure of electro-activity in the brain – called magnetoencephalography – will be used by all three services.
The medical breakthrough will also be used to investigate what happens to the brain in sports concussion, dementia and epilepsy. It means for the first time ever, researchers will see exactly what happens to brain function within minutes of blast exposure and watch how troops recover – potentially transforming how those who serve are protected.
The world’s first scanner will deploy directly to military firing ranges, field hospitals and rehabilitation centres, bringing the technology where it is needed most. This will enable evidence-based decision making to protect service personnel from any potential harmful effects.
It will be built by University of Nottingham related company Cerca Magnetics and used by the Defence Medical Services. And the project will be in collaboration with world-leading scientists from the Universities of Nottingham and Birmingham, to understand the effects of blast exposure.
Minister for Veterans and People, Louise Sandher-Jones MP said: “The safety of our personnel is a top priority. Thanks to technologies like this, even subtle physical changes are now becoming detectable, and we will get crucial insights that simply weren’t possible before, improving decision-making and vital protections for our forces.
“This funding demonstrates our commitment to renewing the nation’s contract with those who serve, but also shows how defence innovation benefits wider society, including those impacted by dementia, epilepsy and concussion.”
Lt Col James Mitchell, Consultant Neurologist and Chief Investigator of the UK Military Blast Study at the UK Defence Medical Services, said: “This new system, a world first, will be transformative for research into the effects of blast exposure on our personnel.
“For the first time we will be able to build a time-stamped, accurate picture of exactly what happens to the brain in the minutes and hours after blast exposure and track recovery over time.” Professor Matthew Brookes, professor of physics at the University of Nottingham and chairman of Cerca magnetics, has pioneered this technology for a decade. He said:
“This new generation of MEG lifts limitations that have historically confined scanners to universities, paving the way for mobile systems that can be taken directly to those who will benefit most. The introduction of mobile systems will likely revolutionise other fields too, whether parked outside hospitals to assess neurological conditions or at sports grounds to scan players following concussion.” The system is expected to be operational by 31 March 2026.
