Gary Hartstein gives his take on Bianchi's accident

Following his terrible accident during the Japanese Grand Prix, Jules Bianchi suffered from a diffuse axonal injury. Faced with this complex medical term for the uninitiated, Gary Hartstein, former FIA medical delegate, explained in our columns the causes and potential consequences of such trauma.

“The axon is the “wiring” part of a neuron, recalls the American. These axons come together in bundles, and we then speak of white matter, which is distinguished from gray matter, the brain itself? We are here at the command headquarters of higher functions. Perception, self-awareness? If you damage this wiring in its entirety, you prevent the different parts of the brain from communicating with each other. »

The injury suffered by the French pilot was obviously caused by the sudden deceleration during the impact against the lifting gear. Gary Hartstein also explains that this type of trauma is very varied. “It can range from a concussion that improves over hours, days, and weeks, to very severe diffuse axonal injury from which the patient does not wake up. » ?

Discover the full interview with Gary Hartstein in issue 1982 of AUTOhebdo, already available in digital version and on newsstands.