A helmet-mounted sensor system has been developed in an effort to accurately measure appropriate impact forces in sports and protect against concussion. The Brain Sentry system’s sensor can be activated at the beginning of the season by peeling and sticking it to the back of each helmet. According to the device’s website, the device’s battery life management system eliminates the need to turn it on or off.
The sensor light will automatically enter a sleep mode when the helmet is not in use, and will become active and display a blinking green LED light when motion is detected. In the event of a large acceleration of the head, a bright red LED will turn on and blink once every 3 seconds. The red LED reportedly signals that the player must be taken off the field and examined using the team’s protocol for concussion assessment prior to returning to play. Brain Sentry LLC states that if the player is not injured, the coach, athletic trainer, or designated adult can reset the sensor to turn off the blinking red light.
The memory in the sensor also tracks the largest impacts, and if within 1 year of the first alert a second large impact is detected, the red light will flash quickly twice every 2 seconds. The red’s light flashing will ultimately continue to flash consecutively to reflect the number of hits it has tracked (three times if a third hit is detected, four times if a fourth hit is detected, etc).
The fully sealed, waterproof device can be removed at the end of season and returned to Brain Sentry for recycling. The company notes that it will then send new sensors to the team for the next season. The company also emphasizes that the sensor is not a brain injury detector, but rather an impact detector engineered to alert when the brain when may have been subjected to a force high enough to result in injury.
For more information, visit www.brainsentry.com.
[Source: Brain Sentry LLC]