(WTVO)–Doctors are soon getting a new method to diagnose mild concussions in patients, thanks to a rapid blood test from Abbott Laboratories.

According to the the lab’s press release on Monday, the FDA cleared the blood test as a way to rule out the need for a head CT scan if results are negative.

The test produces a result within 15 minutes after drawing a small blood sample form the arm, and running the plasma sample through Abbott’s handheld device, called the “i-STAT™ Alinity.” The test measures proteins found in the blood, called UCH-L1 and GFAP, to determine whether a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) took place.

“Healthcare providers have been waiting for a blood test for the brain and now we have one,” said Beth McQuiston, M.D., medical director for Abbott’s diagnostics business. “You can’t treat what you don’t know and now physicians will be equipped with critical, objective information that will help them provide the best care possible, allowing patients to take steps to recover, prevent reinjury and get back to doing the things they care about most.”

Nearly 5 million people go to the emergency room for a TBI in the U.S. each year. And many more who sustain brain injuries never go, according to medical expert Geoffrey Manley.

“Evaluating brain injuries is complex – and research shows that we only catch about half of those who show up to the hospital with a suspected TBI,” said Geoffrey Manley, M.D., Ph.D., vice chair of neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco.

Abbott Laboratories says the future goal is to create a portable test that can be used outside the traditional healthcare setting where people need a quick evaluation, such as sports competitions.

The lab is still working on a whole blood test option that takes one step out of the test they’ve created so far—by eliminating the need for separation of plasma.

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