The goal is to help medical scientists better understand what sorts of football collisions cause concussions, as well as whether there are any positions or particular plays associated with a greater risk of these traumatic brain injuries. The mouthpieces contain accelerometers and gyrometers that measure the linear and rotational force of head impacts.
Members of Stanford's football team, as well as women's field hockey and lacrosse teams, are testing this high-tech mouthpiece to measure the brain impacts of hits they receive while playing.
Stanford is the only university in the nation using the device to collect research data from collegeathletes.
“This study will build toward establishing clinically relevant head-impact correlations and thresholds to allow for a better understanding of the biomechanics of brain injuries,” said Dan Garza, MD, an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Stanford School of Medicine, who is leading the investigation. “It also will serve as a helpful tool to aid in the diagnosis and subsequent management of concussions.”
The researchers also plan to collect head-impact data from the Stanford women’s field hockey and lacrosse teams, whose members soon will be outfitted with the devices.
“It’s a great opportunity for our student athletes, many of whom conduct scientific research in their academic studies, to contribute to the leading-edge research being done in sports medicine here,” said Earl Koberlein, senior associate athletic director at Stanford. “It’s a good marriage of theuniversity’s strong academics and strong athletics.”
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