Marucci BodiTrak’s Head Health Network aims to bring Smart Helmets and the gold standard of concussion care to youth football teams.
A few months ago, we covered the development and goals of Marucci BodiTrak’s Head Health Network sensor system, a pressure mapping fabric inserted into helmets. After a successful pilot program at LSU in the spring, Marucci BodiTrak is now bringing Head Health Network’s impact-sensing helmets and services to youth and college football teams across the country in the following year.
The Head Health Network (HHN) is a subscription based service that delivers the gold standard of concussion care to all levels of football. The service consists of baseline and post injury cognitive testing, real-time impact monitoring, real time access to medical experts via telemedicine, a concussion insurance policy and a ‘Hit History’ medical record.
With HHN, each player will receive testing for all critical brain functions with BodiTrak software and receive impact-sensing helmets containing built-in sensors that detect concussions and instantly record impact data. Serious head injuries will be treated immediately, with the Concussion Care Insurance covering up to $25,000 in related costs initiated by HHN’s sensors. Combined, these services meet or exceed the level of care that has historically only been available to the highest level athletes.
Curtis Cruz, President of Marucci BodiTrak, explained to us that the company will be initiating a pilot program for youth football teams in Atlanta over the next season. Players between 8-12 years old will wear helmets equipped with HHN technology and each will enjoy the gold standard of care in the case of unexpected head injuries.
In addition to the pilot program for youth football, Cruz and Marucci BodiTrak have had conversations with seven college football programs and two NFL teams regarding the implementation of Head Health Network’s sensor system for the upcoming season. Along with the trails at LSU, Marucci BodiTrak has also demonstrated their technology at Texas A&M and Penn State.
“With LSU we fitted 10 of their helmets with our sensor system and we monitored impacts throughout their entire Spring Season,” Cruz explained. “With both Texas A&M and Penn State, we installed our sensor system into one of their helmets and monitored impacts for a single practice.”
Cruz expects that all of these college teams will incorporate helmets equipped with HHN technology into their programs for their upcoming seasons.