A Canadian high school is using special sensors in their helmets to detect concussions during football games. With the NFL combating head injuries, the sensor technology could soon find itself in the helmets of professional athletes.
Ernest Manning High School, located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is participating in a new study of concussions, the Calgary Herald reports. The study implements new sensor technology into helmets to detect concussions. Every player's helmet is outfitted with the sensors, which measure the force of impacts, for the 2013 season.
The data from the sensors is monitored from the sidelines with an iPad and relayed to coaches. Any hit registering over 60g of force automatically gets a player pulled from the game to undergo a concussion test.
Ernest Manning coaches now have records of every hit a player sustains in games or in practice thanks to the efforts of Wayde Bymoen, the school's sports medicine teacher who pioneered the study.
"I had seen head injuries and never been sure when it was safe to bring players back in. It was always in the back of my mind. How do you know?" Bymoen said of why he began the study, according to The Herald.
Bymoen was able to implement the sensors through grant funding from the University of Alberta. The study will continue for three more years at Ernest Manning, although Bymoen said he would publicize the results after each season.
So far, Bymoen's sensors have led to 14 players being sidelined with confirmed concussions. He believes the technology will protect players by more accurately diagnosing possible head injuries instead of relying on players to report symptoms - Bymoen cited a study that revealed more than 50 percent of high school athletes hide head injuries from their coaches in order to keep playing.
If the data from the study proves the sensors to be beneficial, the NFL could soon look to use similar technology in their players' helmets.
