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Texas A&M University

Learning more about brain injuries through wearables

Jeff Zillgitt
USA TODAY Sports
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) lays injured during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets in game five of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs. at Oracle Arena.

Wearable technology is a rapidly expanding industry in the field of brain injuries.

Developed for collision sports such as football, hockey and lacrosse, it has expanded into contact sports such as basketball, soccer and baseball.

i1 Biometrics is one company producing wearable technology to help collect cranial impact data in real-time. Using sensors inside of helmets or in mouthguards, this technology sends data to a mobile device used by trainers and physicians on the sideline. It does not diagnose concussions.

"What is does however, it tells how hard a player got hit and where on the head the head they took that hit, which can be very helpful as we go through regular concussion protocols," i1 Biometrics CEO Jesse Harper said. "How hard was the brain jarred? We know we can watch it on replay, but what did they actually experience? That informs us as we start to take them through that concussion protocol.

"The more data we have quickly that tells us how hard they got hit and there they got it so the medical staff can lean in, take them through the protocol and really spend some time on them, the better."

The wearable technology measures linear and rotational accelerations the brain experiences. Several college football teams, including Texas A&M, Kansas and South Carolina, plan to use the system in 2015. This technology can help in areas where a concussion or concussion-like symptoms aren't quickly and easily discernible as was the case with Golden State guard Klay Thompson in Game 5 against the Houston Rockets.

Dr. Teena Shetty, a neurologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, is triple board-certified in neurology, neuromuscular medicine, and electrodiagnostic medicine and specializes in sports neurology, concussions and neuromuscular diseases. She explained why concussions aren't always diagnosed immediately.

"The symptoms of a concussion are complex and multi-fold," she said. "They're not specific neurological conditions. There are things like a headache, head pressure, dizziness, light sensitivity, noise sensitivity, fatigue, difficulty with concentration, sleep disruption. Some of them are situational or provoked by exercise or concentration. Therefore, in the immediate moment, they may not surface."

i1 Biometrics is developing a headband that will be available for basketball players to wear next season.

"Where it (the technology) needs to get to and this going to take research, we need more players wearing sensors so we learn more," Harper said. "Over time, we'll be able to know what the likelihood of that hit to that area of the head of that magnitude leading to a concussion is and it can help the diagnostic process."

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