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PITTSBURGH — The room went dark, illuminating a giant computer screen inside the hospital's cramped lab.

A high-definition image popped up on the screen. It looked like an avocado, sliced in half and blasted with a few yellow paintballs.

Willie Tuitama's brain was a sight to behold.

The image, which can be rotated 360 degrees on a computer screen, was taken when Arizona's quarterback visited the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for a workup in December after suffering four concussion-like episodes during the 2006 football season.

Doctors administered a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) exam on Tuitama, taking pictures of his brain.

Tuitama underwent an MRI a few months earlier after suffering a concussion-like episode, but this one was different. Using the scans from his MRI, hospital doctors created a 360-degree model of Tuitama's brain. Using a computer, the doctors took a virtual view directly into his head.

A concussion is a closed-head injury that occurs when the brain rattles against the skull following sudden impact. Concussions are not curable.

But recent medical strides and improving helmet technology may help athletes avoid the long-term effects of head injuries.

Concussions leave little room for error, said Randy Cohen, the UA's assistant athletic director for medical services.

"If you make a mistake with an ankle sprain, someone's ankle might hurt a lot more," he said. "Make a mistake with a concussion and you can cause a lot of long-term problems. This is one of those things that you have to be good at, that you have to get right."

Tuitama's UPMC doctors knew exactly what part of his brain was injured. They had to work backward, however, to get there.

Doctors asked the quarterback to describe his symptoms immediately after the hits. Using Tuitama's responses, and his Immediate Postconcussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) scores, they determined he had suffered an injury to the back of his head.

Different parts of the brain are responsible for different functions. Hits to the front and side of the brain often lead to amnesia, headaches and nausea. Shots to the back of the head can lead to immediate vision and hearing problems. Tuitama complained of sensitivity to light and sound.

"That's the type of blow that can cause the symptoms Willie had," said Micky Collins, Tuitama's doctor at UPMC. "His symptoms were all very, very typical with that kind of blow."

Doctors may soon have more tools to work with. Two new tests are giving them a window into an often misunderstood injury.

UPMC is one of the only hospitals in the country offering a Functional MRI (fMRI). Doctors take scans of a patient's brain and lay them over a 3D map of the organ. Using a computer, they view any area of the brain to see which functions, if any, have been affected by a hit.

The fMRI test primarily has been used to examine brain tumors. UPMC has used it on high-profile concussed athletes for the last six months.

Tuitama was among the first players to undergo the fMRI scan. Since then, a handful of NFL players have trekked to Pittsburgh to undergo similar tests.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) scans gauge which, if any, parts of the brain have been affected by concussions.

A DTI scan allows doctors to trace the microhemorrhages that occur when the brain rattles inside the skull following a concussion. Damage can still occur, even if the brain "snaps back" to its original position in the head, said Dr. Emanuel Kanal, a UPMC neurological radiologist who has viewed Tuitama's slides.

No one test can serve as a green light to play again.

"We're in a constant search for a test that would tell us, 'This is early, this is perfect, this guy is as strong as a bull, let him loose,' " Kanal said.

"That test has not existed yet."

Tuitama returned to practice midway through the 2006 season to find a new helmet waiting for him.

The Schutt DNA helmet is a pumpkin-shaped helmet with increased padding. Tuitama was a fan almost instantly, even if the oversized shape made him look a bit funny. He has used the helmet since mid-October.

"It's actually one of the most comfortable helmets I've worn," Tuitama said in October. "There's a whole lot of padding, and it's pretty big."

The DNA is the latest in a line of football helmets designed to better protect the head on impact. The DNA was introduced in 2003, a year after Riddell introduced its Revolution model following four years of research and development.

Riddell initially claimed its Revolution helmet could reduce concussions. Within a few years, it had the scientific proof to back it up.

UPMC and Riddell released a study of high school football players in January 2006 that showed 5.4 percent of Revolution wearers suffered concussions, as opposed to 7.6 percent among wearers of a more traditional design.

The Revolution, with its teardrop-shaped vents and an elongated shell that covers the jaw, has arguably become football's most popular new design.

Peyton Manning led the Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl XLI title wearing the Revolution.

The UA football team wears both Revolutions and DNAs, along with a number of other designs.

Tucson Unified School District embraced the DNA technology and will soon outfit all of its players with the oversized bulbs. The DNA retails for about $150; the Revolution costs about $20 more.

Both Revolutions and DNAs have been proven effective over older models, said Bart Peterson, the head athletic trainer at Palo Verde High School.

Titans players take better care of the new helmets. "The kids believe in it, and so they're going to wear it," Peterson said. "I tell the kids all the time, 'Take care of the helmets, and the helmets are going to take care of you.' "

So-called "safer" products are popular, even though some of them have yet to be scientifically proven.

A Weymouth, Mass., dentist says his custom-fit mouthpiece, which fits over the bottom teeth, prevents concussions by better aligning the jaw. Gerald Maher has been profiled in ESPN The Magazine and The Boston Globe in the past year, but has yet to receive funding from the NFL to further examine his device.

Maher's claim is nothing new. In 1993, the Shock Doctor mouthpiece company released "the world's first engineered mouthguard" amid boasts that it reduced concussions. Other companies claim padded headbands and rubber caps over helmets can help reduce head injuries, though there is no science to support it.

These products are a sensitive subject among doctors.

No piece of equipment — helmets included — can help an athlete return to action quicker. Concussions and other brain injuries are the result of participation in an often violent sport.

Tuitama learned that first-hand.

"Your brain is like a yolk inside of an eggshell," Collins said. "You can be wearing a tank around your head, and it can't prevent your brain from shaking against your skull."