Sideline concussion testing is not perfect. It usually involves a series of questions, some short-term memory tests and an athletic trainer’s assessment of eye movement. More times than not, these do the trick, but there are quite a few examples where seriously concussed players have returned to action after passing their tests.
The Miami Herald’s Michelle Kaufman caught researchers at the University of Miami Hecht Athletic Center testing a more accurate and objective manner for sideline concussion testing—the I-Portal PAS goggle system.
The goggles are being developed by the medical schools at the University of Miami and the University of Pittsburgh, along with medical equipment manufacturer Neuro Kinetics, Inc.
The NFL, a league that is continually haunted by concussions, is cosponsoring a $500,000 grant with Under Armour and GE.
The U.S. Department of Defense is also supporting these goggles, as they look for a way to detect and assess head trauma for battlefield soldiers.
Two separate cameras, one for each eye, make up the technology. Through a series of tests the goggles can determine if someone is concussed. The 3D camera assessment measures the reflex responses of the eye and the symmetry of pupil dilation, so as to provide more objective data on a person’s state of brain trauma.
The system should be decently easy for an athletic trainer to implement on the side of a field or court. It can be packed up in a backpack, so it should not be too hard for a team to take on the road. But, the goggles do need to be hooked up to a computer, so that will surely take more effort and planning than current concussion tests. Researchers did not say how long the testing takes.
Developers are hoping to have three different models available after their 18 months of testing. They will have a cheaper model for youth sports, which will be around $200, a college and pro sports model and a clinical health model.
With a year and a half of testing left and FDA approval needed, these goggles probably will not hit sidelines for another two years. So, in the meantime, sports leagues will need to play it safe.