Football players have a 75 percent chance of getting a concussion, according to the Sports Concussion Institute. Compared to 5-10 percent chance in most sports, this number is dangerously high. Louisiana State University (LSU) has partnered with a Seattle-based tech startup to help reduce this risk. i1 Biometrics‘ new concussion-sensing Vector Mouthguard measures player head impact and provides real-time data to athletic trainers on the sideline. Using a built in micro-chip, accelerometer, gyroscope, battery, and antenna, the mouthguard tracks linear and rotational accelerations of head impacts during practices or games.
Being the physical, impact game that it is, a college football lineman will experience over 1,000 sub-concussive hits to the head each season. LSU is the first collegiate team to begin testing this new device. According to their Director of Athletic Training, Jack Marruci, LSU averages six concussions per training camp and two per season.
“There’s a high volume of concussions in training camps and we see a volume in a certain subgroup of the team, which is the offensive linemen and some defensive linemen. So we wanted to see and make it more clear why this was happening,” Marruci said.
Concussions can be difficult to diagnose because the body shows no obvious injury. Disorientation, memory problems, delayed responses, and other signs help medical staff identify whether a concussion has occurred.
“A significant struggle faced by coaches and trainers today is centered around knowing the severity and location of head impact on the field of play,” said i1 Biometrics’ Chief Executive Officer, Jesse Harper.
“The Vector Mouthguard with ESP Chip Technology is engineered to reduce the guesswork so that coaches and trainers have accurate and timely data to help make proper decisions for their student athletes.”
At a cost of $199 each, The Vector Mouthguard is pricey, but offers data that could save athletes’ lives. Though this is not the first concussion sensor on the market, accuracy and wireless communication set this device apart. Other sensors are placed in the helmet and measure impact to the helmet itself. The Vector Mouthguard, on the other hand, maintains contact with the skull and gathers far more accurate data that’s pushed wirelessly to mobile devices on the sideline. This new technology can truly be life-saving; and you can expect more sports teams to adopt these systems in the near future.