Researchers at the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center said they have developed commercial smart football helmets that measure the force of blows to the head.
Research initiatives to make players safer on and off the field have been in development for the past decade at many universities, including Wake Forest University, UNC Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech. All have worked on the development of helmet sensor technology to help detect traumatic head injuries.
The research is focused on future helmet design and rules to limit head trauma exposure and assist trainers, coaches, doctors and players for evaluation of a possible injury and to identify or rule out possible concussions.
Dr. Daryl Rosenbaum, the lead researcher at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, who is conducting research on traumatic brain injury, said the helmets can help identify players who have taken a hard hit and prompt immediate real-time evaluation for signs of a concussion rather than waiting for the player to notice something is wrong.
The smart helmets are far from making their way into high school athletics in North Carolina. The average price for a Riddell, Schutt and Nike adult football helmet can range from $200 to $300. Rosenbaum said the smart helmets would cost schools an additional $150 to $300 more per helmet.
"We have submitted a proposal to Toyota to fund the use of helmet sensor technology in local high schools in order to study the effects of football-related head trauma. We just had the system installed at Wake Forest University and used the helmets during spring training," Rosenbaum said.
Don Steelman, the assistant athletic trainer for Wake Forest University football, said the wireless system provides real-time readings from impacts from the helmets.
The system is pretty easy to use. The sensors have a threshold that will set off an alarm when a player takes a hit, notifying the coach which player may be at risk, Steelman said.
"I think the research will help protect players by helping to develop better helmets but also help us identify players who are not learning the proper way to play," Steelman said.
The state has taken a step toward dealing with head injuries among players.
On June 16, North Carolina joined 20 other states to enact legislation directed toward concussion education for interscholastic sports. The Gfeller-Waller Act is designed to raise awareness of the dangers of head injuries and puts decisions about whether a player should return to the field in the hands of a medical professional. The bill is named for two high school students from the state who died on the football field due to head-related injuries.
The same week the legislation passed, the National Organizing Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) approved three research grants worth $500,000 and reapproved a $610,000 grant voted on last winter for traumatic brain injury research. The Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences receives no money from NOCSAE for their research and is funded through private donations.
Professor Stefan Duma, the researcher who developed the accelerometer technology as well as a comparative test for football helmets using a five-star system, has been the primary force behind the development of this type of technology for past eight years.
Having recorded over 1.5 million head impacts since Virginia Tech's 2003 football season, Duma said a better way to have improved safety is through newer helmets.
"This system can benefit anyone who wears an adult helmet. High school, college, NFL; it's all the same."
The research has helped to build better helmets that slow the acceleration of the head when it takes a hit, said Duma.
"The biggest reason why it helps is that we can quantify exactly how players are hit by a physician, by the level, how often, how hard and by what direction. Since we know the exposure that allows us to develop and design better equipment and that's where it's really critically important," Duma said.
Since releasing his helmet rating system, Duma said many helmet manufacturers have come out with better helmets that help to slow the acceleration of an impact. Duma said he is strongly encouraging schools to change to newer helmets.
Not everyone thinks helmet sensors are the answer to preventing head injuries.
"Helmets are not going to prevent concussions," said Dr. Fred Mueller, director of the National Center for Sports Injury Research at UNC Chapel Hill. "If you had an athletic trainer in every high school and middle school in the state, it would help a lot. The problem is the funding is just not there."
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