An Unexpected Solution For Preventing Concussions In Kid Athletes: Their Uniforms

When a young athlete has difficulty standing up, walking, or talking after a “hit” with another athlete, it’s easy to suspect a concussion. Often, however, such immediate symptoms don’t occur. A recent study in the journal Pediatrics suggested that more than half a million concussions in youth go unreported—and all too often, young athletes are asked to provide a self-evaluation mere seconds after a traumatic brain injury.

Yet in most cases, the outward signs of concussion are subtle and easy to miss. When one occurs a few feet from the ball, that concussion can easily go unnoticed. The NFL and now the larger collegiate football conferences include spotters and a physician whose primary role is to look out for the player’s safety.

This, however, leaves about 98 percent of players in high school, middle school, and all youth leagues without the benefit of these safety measures. Between 1.1 million and 1.9 million concussions occur in children each year. That is far greater than the number of children with concussions reported by emergency departments; their records indicate the number ranges between 115,000 and 167,000.

[quote position="right" is_quote="true"]In most cases the outward signs of concussion are subtle and easy to miss. When it occurs a few feet from the [play], it can go unnoticed.[/quote]

Given the desire of the players to compete and not to disappoint their teammates as well as lack of awareness of the early symptoms of concussion and the importance of avoiding a second concussive injury, many athletes return to playing after having experienced a concussion.

But the swelling that follows a concussion reduces the brain’s ability to absorb a second impact. In addition, concussion often results in impaired peripheral vision and coordination, increasing the likelihood of a second impact.

Asking the person who has been concussed to self-diagnose makes little sense. As measurement experts and science professors at Michigan State University, we sought to come up with a solution to unreported concussions.

Heading off an often debilitating diagnosis

Having kids who participated in youth, high school, and college sports, our research team recognized the need for a simple device that could detect if a player had experienced a blow to the head. Unlike most parents, we collectively have over 50 years of experience in experimental measurement science.

We sought to detect the magnitude and location of the head impact in order to provide information for parents, coaches, and health care providers as an aid in determining if a concussion has taken place. So we set out to design a device that could be used as an extension of the clinical evaluation by showing the location and magnitude of a head impact.

Given that impact sensing is outside our immediate field of expertise—which involves ultrafast lasers and single layers of molecules—we partnered with Michigan State University’s football and soccer athletic trainers and players to evaluate our initial prototypes. From each meeting and trial, we learned what works best, and what simply does not work.

Initially, we thought of using accelerometers similar to those on smart phones that can sense abrupt changes in direction; however, our experience with sometimes finicky high-tech gadgets and continuously updating operating systems forced us to seek a more reliable platform.

Image via Max Andrews (cc)

We focused on the use of a recording media that would respond to localized pressure, and then developed a sensor design that could be calibrated so that the measurements would accurately reflect how severe a head impact is. Finally, we tested multiple headbands and skullcaps to come up with a design that could be implemented as part of a uniform and would be comfortable to wear.

The help we received from Michigan State Head Athletic Trainer Dr. Sally Nogle and neurologist Dr. David Kaufman was critically important to capturing the essence of the problems encountered in the field.

One of the biggest problems in keeping players safe is that it is hard to keep track of all the players. Therefore, it is important to have a rapid on-site sensor that records the magnitude and location of a head impact. Nogle and Kaufman stressed that only a trained professional can diagnose a concussion. But knowing the location and severity of the impact can help them determine if a player should be kept from returning to the field before a concussion protocol.

The process took 18 months, 200 failed prototypes and several broken accelerometers, which are used for calibrating the magnitude of impact. Ultimately, our team arrived at a headband or cap design that contains four sensor strips that were used by several football and men’s and women’s soccer players during the spring 2016 season. The sensor strips have four to six sensors each that are easy to read.

Our sensors measure force, which, according to Newton’s second law, equals mass times acceleration. Therefore, unlike accelerometers that are sensitive to motion, our sensors take into account mass and are sensitive to force. In practical terms, this means our sensors are much less likely to indicate false impacts.

[quote position="left" is_quote="true"]One of the biggest problems in keeping players safe is that it is hard to keep track of all the players.[/quote]

When impacted, the sensors show an image that can be understood intuitively: no image for a weak impact, a circle for moderate impact or a circle with a star inside for a severe impact. These sensors have no electronic components, so there is no need to interface them with a phone or computer.

We can’t yet disclose all the technology that in the patent-pending sensor strips, which we intend to further develop and sell through a company we’ve formed. The sensor strips are calibrated using a testing system developed to simulate the actual size, shape and weight of a human head attached to a flexible neck.

In addition, industrial electronic accelerometers capable of taking impacts are five to 10 times greater than those associated with concussion are used to calibrate the design parameters of the sensor strips.

We would like to see that their affordable sensors make youth sports safer and minimize the risk of repeated concussive injuries. They would like to know that the next time a soccer player wants to get up and return to the playing field, there will be a way to let coaches, trainers and/or parents know the location and severity of a head impact. This information can help in making a better-informed decision regarding the possibility of concussion.

Ultimately, the hope is to put information in the hands of professionals, so that more severe traumatic brain injuries can be avoided.