I101 GROUP PROJECT: CONCUSSIONS IN FOOTBALLMichael Muzek, William Dolan, Kevin Kurtz, Adam Keyes

INTRODUCTION

Problem Space & Scope

SCENARIO

Scenario• You are a football player in the middle of a big game.

• Do you keep playing with a headache, or sit out?

• Pressure from team, coaches, friends, family

Scenario (cont.)• Supposed to wait until after symptoms gone, but you have

a headache

• Another big game coming up, do you play?

• Bump heads again, this time you are out cold

Scenario (cont.)• Physical problems

• Academic problems

• Emotional problems

RESEARCH

Concussions in Sports • Concussion is a common athletic injury experienced by

approximately 300,000 youths each year• More common is postconcussive syndrome (PCS), which

consists of such cognitive and physical symptoms as headache, anxiety, vertigo, nausea, and hallucinations. An estimated 30 percent of professional football players suffer from PCS

• Long term Symptoms: Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia

Concussions in Sports

Concussions in Football• 3.8 million concussions occur in the USA per year during

competitive sports • however, as many as 50% of the concussions may go

unreported• During the first 16 weeks of the 2012 and 2013 NFL

regular seasons, 300 concussions, involving 284 players, were reported

• 64.3 primary cases per 10,000 game exposures

Real Life Concussions

• Kevin Clifton

• Nick Tomessetti

• Natasha Richardson (Liam Neeson’s Wife)

SOLUTIONS

People are staring to apply some new technology that will revolutionize equipment in sports, especially football.

Mouth Guards• The researchers are also developing a mouth guard with

a motion-recording accelerometer inside to monitor concussions.

Helmets • New football helmet will be ready in 2015 and will have a

Kevlar based frame, rams horn inspired inner foam lining, and a magnesium alloy face mask.

Apps• The concussion detection software is an app on a mobile

device, and will notify trainers if a football player has been hit at a dangerous level.

Pig Brains• Not only is the helmet designed with real brain

simulations, it's also tested with real pig brains to better understand concussions in the game of football.