Real-Time Concussion Detection System
From: Medical Design Technology - 04/02/2015

Michael Dietz and his startup Sudden Impact Analytics are addressing the
concussion detection challenge by providing an instant detection system to
alert athletic trainers when blows reach a certain threshold. An amateur
boxer from Naperville, IL, who is participating in the Chicago Golden
Gloves Boxing Tournament, Dietz is intimately aware of the concussion risk
from being struck repeatedly in the head.

Through research, Dietz discovered that the linear and rotational
acceleration due to G-forces applied to the head are directly related to
concussions. While most effects of a first concussion dissipate over time,
tragic long-term problems can result from being struck again before fully
healing from the initial concussion. While many hits are obvious to the
observer, the problem comes in measuring every impact in real time before a
player has a chance to be hit again.

The team is designing a chip to stick in an athlete's mouth guard. It will
measure the G-forces and if above a programmed threshold, alert the athletic
trainer, the coach, or even the parent of such an impact. Using Bluetooth,
the chip would send the alert with supporting data to a smart phone. The
player would then be taken out of the game immediately for further evaluation.

The chip will run on a small battery and turns on only when it senses motion
and transmits information only when it detects an impact above a certain
threshold. There is no need for players to turn the chip on and its limited
transmissions mean the battery should last the length of the season.

Since the chip must be placed inside an athlete’s mouth, one of the issues
that Moolah is facing is that is making sure the device is waterproof and the
chip encased. That issue may at least initially be addressed, however, by
sticking the device on to a lip guard, as many football players are starting
using a mouthpiece with a lip guard.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.mdtmag.com/news/2015/04/real-time-concussion-detection-system

Links:
Sudden Impact Analytics
https://oldqa.founder.org/sudden-impact-analytics

New Technology Could Help Detect Athletes’ Concussions
http://publish.illinois.edu/j335fall2014/2014/12/11/new-technology-could-help-prevent-athletes-concussions/

Related:
Heading Off Concussions
http://www.mdtmag.com/news/2015/04/heading-concussions