VCOM View Vol 11 No 1

RESEARCH REVIEW

Turnbull Receives Grant for Sideline Ultrasound Imaging

O ne of the most quickly and accurately diagnosing injuries sustained during athletic events. In an effort to improve the diagnostic process, Jacob Turnbull, DO, assistant professor for family and sports medicine at VCOM-Louisiana, with the help of a $4,000 grant from the American Association of College of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), developed a pilot program designed to study the advantages of immediate-access ultrasound imaging on the sideline. To help facilitate the pilot program, Turnbull, the study’s primary investigator, is collaborating with a team of co-investigators who are also part of the VCOM- Louisiana sports medicine team: John Lipka, MD; Randy Aldret, EdD, LAT, ATC, CSCS*D; Stephanie Aldret, DO, CAQSM; and Travis Smith, DO, CAQSM. Also assisting with the study are two medical students from the VCOM-Louisiana Class of 2024, Autumn Oliver and Alexis Smith. “My goal is to improve the quality of medical access for all athletes. Ultrasound provides real-time imaging with no ionizing radiation challenging aspects of sports medicine is

and is cost-effective,” said Turnbull. “The question being studied is whether ultrasound can support the clinician to reliably obtain the correct diagnosis.” VCOM-Louisiana’s ongoing partnership with the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) and its new business agreement with Butterfly Incorporated are key to allowing Turnbull and his team to gather the data needed for this study. While on the

Louisiana. As with much of the Delta Region of the United States, northeast Louisiana is largely rural and medically underserved, with student-athletes often lacking access to diagnostic imaging for injuries sustained during athletic events, whether due to time, money or the availability of such medical devices. Turnbull intends to help bring faster, reliable imaging technology to the region that is safer for the athletes in his care. ■

sidelines for ULM football, soccer and other athletic events, the team treats a variety of ankle injuries, which can be diagnosed on the spot using the Butterfly iQ+ TM hand- held ultrasound. Athletes are given the option for immediate diagnosis by opting-in to the study. These athletes are also later referred for x-rays, which are then compared with the ultrasound images to determine if the findings are consistent. In the future, Turnbull hopes to extend the pilot program to include

local high schools in Monroe and northeast

winter 2021 | VCOM V iew M agazine 39