UT Dallas Uses 3D Printing to Help Detect Sports Concussions

Reducing the estimated 300,000 concussions per year sustained by high school athletes has become a major public health priority. Athletes lose consciousness in just 10 percent of concussion injuries, which makes it difficult to detect concussions and also increases the risk that those athletes will incur a much more serious injury by continuing to play with reduced faculties.

The Biomedical Device Center at the University of Texas at Dallas is working on a system that can be used during sporting events, particularly football and hockey, to quickly and easily detect changes in brain functions. One part of the system attaches to the athlete’s head and neck and incorporates sensors to measure the frequency, force and direction of impacts.

If the device detects a severe hit, the player puts on specialized neural triage goggles that supply a visual stimulus and cameras that measure the resulting movement of the athlete’s eye. A brain injury is detected when the athlete’s response is significantly slower or different than pre-game measurements.