Western Michigan students create concussion-detecting helmet sensor
A group of students at Western Michigan University has developed a helmet that detects when a football player has suffered a concussion.
The technology uses a sensor to transmit information from a collision to the sideline. From MLive.com's report:
[Ali] Eshkeiti and other student engineers designed a pressure sensor for helmets using printed electronics. Data from the sensor can be relayed over Bluetooth to a smartphone, so that a coach or other team leader would instantly know the severity of an impact.The data also could be stored on a cloud-based server, so doctors and trainers could see a player's complete history.
The product seeks to mitigate the possibility of misjudgement by coaches and doctors, particularly because the onus is often on players to self-report concussions.
This year, a number of college football teams will be using Riddell SpeedFlex helmets, which are designed to lessen the impact of concussions.
- Josh Sanchez