An occupational therapist demonstrates the use of an electronic notebook to help a patient with a brain injury develop and refine writing skills. Notebook exercises help people with brain injuries

Moriah E. Kane, O.T., ATP, an occupational therapist, uses an electronic notebook to help a patient with a brain injury develop and refine writing skills to encourage interaction with the environment. People receiving inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services at Mayo Clinic have access to a variety of advanced assistive technology options.

Overview

The Traumatic Brain Injury Model System (TBIMS) overseen by Dmitry Esterov, D.O., M.S., at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, has been continuously funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) since 1998. It is one of 16 centers in the U.S. that NIDILRR supports to:

  • Enroll people with moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) into the TBIMS National Database and follow them for 30-plus years post-injury.
  • Conduct local studies on TBI.
  • Collaborate with other funded TBIMS centers on module research projects.

Mayo Clinic's TBIMS directly aligns with NIDILRR's mission to improve the lives of people who experience TBIs and their families and communities. The system's goal is to study the course of long-term recovery after TBI, as well as to develop, provide and evaluate innovative services that address identified needs for care coordination and community reintegration.

The system focuses on clinical research concerning epidemiology, practice management models, treatment outcomes, community-based randomized clinical trials of behavioral interventions and remotely provided rehabilitation. Its research has produced dozens of publications and hundreds of presentations, bringing to prominence Mayo Clinic's TBIMS status as an internationally recognized brain rehabilitation program.

Funding

NIDILRR, which is within the Administration for Community Living of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, funds the TBIMS program. Mayo Clinic's TBIMS center has been continuously funded since 1998.