Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a major concern for certain professions, including those who partake in contact sports. CTE is known as a degenerative brain disease found in individuals who’ve endured recurrent concussions and traumatic brain injuries.
In recent news, it was shown during a posthumous examination that Aaron Hernandez had an advanced form of CTE. The former New England Patriots tight end and convicted murderer committed suicide in his cell back in April at the age of 27.
Since football carries a CTE risk, BYU researchers have developed a nano composite smartfoam designed to sit snuggly inside a player’s helmet and pads. This addition aims to accurately measure the power of on-field impacts.
To do this, the foam records the magnitude of a collision via electrical signals. Nickel nano-particles rub against the foam once it’s compressed. This creates a static electric charge that is collected through a conductive electrode.
Once a microcontroller measures the electric charge, the results are wirelessly sent to a smart device on the sidelines. There, a coach or trainer can know in real time whether a player has suffered a potential concussion, depending on the registered voltage.
“The standard measurement systems on the market today directly measure the acceleration, but just measuring the acceleration is not enough and can even be erroneous,” says Jake Merrell, BYU mechanical engineering Ph.D. student. “Our XOnano smartfoam sensors measure much more than just acceleration, which we see as a vital key to better diagnose head injuries.”
According to the research, the foam measures impact energy, velocity, severity, and location with 90 percent accuracy.
More details can be found in a paper published in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering.
