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NFL tech competition winners reduce concussions and heal with light
The Super Bowl is almost here, and that means the NFL has picked the winners of its partly tech-focused 1st and Future competition. The main $50,000 prize for its Innovations to Advance Health and Safety competition is TopSpin's namesake TopSpin360, a helmet-based training device that helps reduce concussions (a serious problem for the NFL as of late) by increasing neck strength. All you have to do is spin your head -- the rotating weight on top generates centripetal force you counteract with your neck muscles. It's also Bluetooth-connected to help guide your training sessions.
HALO collar promises to reduce concussions in contact sport
When it comes to high impact sports, sprains and strains are almost inevitable. The NFL has been equipping players with durable, shock-absorbent helmets for years to guard against traumatic injuries, but quick head movements often leave athletes susceptible to other kinds of damage like concussion. Enter HALO, a new form of wearable tech which could help to bridge that gap.
Study backs blood test that gauges seriousness of concussions
Remember how the FDA approved a blood test that could determine the severity of a concussion? It's now clear just why the FDA gave its approval. The Lancet Neurology has published the study at the heart of the decision, giving you a chance to verify the claims for yourself (if you're willing to pay, at least). As before, Banyan Biomarkers' test checks for the presence of two brain proteins (GFAP and UCH-L1) whose levels rise when there are signs of internal trauma. The FDA's claims check out -- out of 1,959 eligible test subjects, just three had CT scans turn up results when the blood tests were negative.
How the brain vibrates may determine the severity of a concussion
Researchers may have uncovered some really useful information about what goes on in the brain during a concussion. Getting that kind of information is pretty difficult since it's not exactly practical to image a brain while sustaining an injury and not exactly ethical to introduce an injury to a living person for the purpose of study. But with the help of some computer modeling and head impact data collected from special mouthguards worn by football players, the researchers found that injury is more likely to occur when separate parts of the brain vibrate at different frequencies.
Apple employees keep walking into their new HQ’s glass walls
Apple opened its new campus last year -- a stunning, glass wall-filled space meant to encourage collaboration and cooperation. But Bloomberg reports today that this achievement in design appears to have sacrificed some functionality -- a growing theme in Apple products -- because, apparently, Apple employees keep walking into the glass. Sources told Bloomberg that some individuals started sticking Post-It notes to the glass doors and walls in order to make them more noticeable, but they were ultimately taken down because they distracted from the space's design.
FDA approves blood test that determines severity of concussions
The FDA announced this week that it has approved a blood test that can quickly and reliably detect signs of a concussion. Typically, when someone seeks medical care following a head injury, they're subjected to a neurological test and/or a CT scan. However, CT scans can only detect bleeding or swelling in the brain, and for injuries that are more minor but still serious, those scans aren't terribly useful. Additionally, if CT scans don't spot anything, and in many cases they don't, the person undergoing the scan has been subjected to unnecessary radiation and, usually, an unneeded expense.
Technology can’t save football players' brains
Tregg Duerson was 25 years old when his father committed suicide in 2011. A former defensive back for the Chicago Bears, New York Giants and Phoenix Cardinals, David "Dave" Duerson made a career out of being one of the most feared tacklers during his 11-year stint in the National Football League. His skill set helped him win two Super Bowl championship rings, one with the Bears in 1985 and another with the Giants in 1990, cementing his legacy as one of the NFL's all-time greats. Along the way, he was also selected to the Pro Bowl, a postseason game that rewards the league's best players, four consecutive times from 1985 to 1988. Duerson had the NFL career most players can only dream of, but it ultimately cost him his life.
Reflexion's big-screen concussion tester is heading to schools
We met Reflexion and its Edge screen last year, and even then we were pretty taken with the idea: A Whac-A-Mole-style test for athletes that improves coordination and helps spot concussions after a big hit? It's uniquely odd, but valuable nonetheless. This year, the team is back with an essentially final version of its six-foot-long display, and it has one crucial trick its predecessor didn't: You can fold it up and squeeze it into a backpack, perfect for high school coaches who need to lug these things to games.
A concussion-sensing mouthguard could help avoid head injuries
Concussions are becoming an increasingly large area of concern for professional athletes in a number of sporting disciplines. It's one of the reasons that Prevent Biometrics is putting its Head Impact Monitor System on sale. HIMS is a smart mouthguard that offers empirical evidence if a player has received a head injury. Rather than using a series of observational tests, which can prove ineffective, the system operates in real time. That way, as soon as a collision is detected, players can be hooked for medical treatment.
BYU develops sports helmet foam for real-time concussion detection
Cranial collisions are haunting the sports world more and more. A recent survey of 111 former football player's brains found that 110 showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease caused by repeated blows like those delivered in the high-contact sport. Companies have been scrambling to provide ways to better track injuries during games, which is a complex undertaking. Researchers at BYU have introduced a non-interfering solution: A nanofoam cushioning that measures impacts in real-time.
Smartphones could someday assess brain injuries
Researchers at the University of Washington are developing a simple way to assess potential concussions and other brain injuries with just a smartphone. The team has developed an app called PupilScreen that uses video and a smartphone's camera flash to record and calculate how the pupils respond to light.
Experimental drug could restore memories after brain injury
An experimental drug could have major implications for patients suffering from memory disabilities caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI). In tests, the drug known as ISRIB completely restored the ability to learn and remember in brain-injured mice -- even on those that were treated up to a month after injury. The findings are contrary to most research on brain trauma, which claims treatments must be carried out urgently to preserve normal function.
DARPA has laid the groundwork for thought-powered prosthetics
New research from the government's mad science wing, DARPA, could make life an awful lot easier for people who use prosthetic limbs. You see, DAPRA has devised what it calls the "Atomic Magnetometer for Biological Imaging in Earth's Native Terrain." Or, "AMBIIENT" if you're into the whole brevity thing.
Researchers discover blood vessels in lab-grown mini-brains
Growing brains in laboratories was just the start for scientists. Next up is vasculature. By studying the naturally occurring capillaries discovered on the mini-brains, researchers from Brown University say that they will be able to conduct bigger investigations into things like strokes and concussions.
A game of 'Whac-a-Mole' can tell if you're concussed
When Reflexion Interactive's Matt Roda was in high school, he suffered a severe concussion during a hockey game. At the time, his coach put him back in the game after asking asinine questions like who was president and what year it was. The experience inspired him and his friends to find a better way for high schools to detect concussions without buying expensive gear. A few years later, the Reflexion Edge was born.
ICYMI: Wearable breast pump and everything IoT
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The wearable breast pump that doesn't need any external power or cords will be launching in the Spring to the tune of $429 and is likely to thrill every woman who's ever had to express milk with one of the bulky contraptions of yore. Willow is selling it and providing a matching app that measures how much milk is produced from each breast as well. Metrics ftw!
Soccer may use video replays to help with concussions
Soccer may not be full-contact like football, but the risks of getting a concussion from a collision on the pitch are still a huge concern. At its annual meeting in March, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) will decide whether a doctor on the touchline will be able to review video replays. After doing so, medics will be able to determine if a blow to the head was severe enough to require a substitution. If approved, the system could be in place as soon as next season and ahead of the next World Cup in 2018.
Harvard researchers built a health app for former NFL players
Since 2014, Harvard University has been running the Football Players Health Study, a program that examines the well-being of former NFL athletes as they leave the game behind. Now, as part of its ongoing research, the Ivy League college developed an app called TeamStudy, which uses simple physical activities, surveys and sensor data from an iPhone to learn more about the state of a player's health. The collected data comes together in one place thanks to Apple's ResearchKit, and Harvard researches say ex-NFL players helped design the iOS application, as they wanted it to focus on important issues including balance, memory, mobility and pain, to mention a few.
Sony Pictures softened 'Concussion' to appease the NFL
Looks like it isn't just its own Players Association that the National Football League can push around with impunity. Internal Sony emails recently brought to light by the company's massive data breach indicate that Sony Pictures intentionally softened the point on it's upcoming film Concussion so as not to upset the league. The movie, which stars Will Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu, the man who helped first diagnose CTE (or chronic traumatic encephalopathy). According to the emails, Sony executives discussed at length with Smith and Peter Landesman, the film's director, about altering the script and marketing for the film to avoid antagonizing the NFL. The movie's angle was reportedly changed from being a condemnation of the NFL's handling of the growing CTE crisis to focus more on Omalu's discovery and initial diagnosis.
GE and NFL team up to fund research into concussion detection
General Electric and the National Football League have handed a firm $500,000 to continue research into a portable system that can detect traumatic brain injury. The league has been criticized for its cavalier attitude towards traumatic head injuries and it's thought that more than 25 percent of players will suffer brain problems. That's why BrainScope is working on Ahead 200, a smartphone-connected EEG that is hoped will instantly detect concussion in an athlete to ensure they get on the spot treatment. The company will use the cash to conduct further studies with high-school sports people to ensure that the technology's initial promise works in the field.
