New tech to detect TBI

Another new piece of technology is being talked about that may help diagnose serious head injuries.  This new device detects hematomas in the skull as a result of a head injury.  Subdural hematomas, by definition, are classified as moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries.  These are not mild TBIs, commonly referred to a s concussions. 

Mild TBIs are more insidious and involve the process of calcium and potassium ions crossing the cell membranes and causing an energy crisis in the brain.  There is no bleeding to speak of in an mTBI.  Therefore, it must be made clear that this new piece of technology, while it may prove useful, will not rule out mTBIs.  This must be very carefully explained each and every time this piece of technology is purchased and used to test for a head injury.  Otherwise, it will have the same problems that CT scans and MRIs do when emergency room staff erroneously tell a victim of an mTBI that they are fine because the test came back negative.

TBI Detection Device

In an encouraging development, an all-star high school football game tested a new product that can help detect TBIs The device, which is a part of the chinstrap, has an LED that changes color based on the severity of a hit received. While it does not diagnose TBIs, it certainly gives the ATs and physicians on the the sidelines a little more feedback about how hard a hit may have been. The problem here is when the light changes color and there are no symptoms of TBI demonstrated by the athlete. Will there be a perception that the AT and/or physician is being negligent or incompetent in diagnosing a TBI? I would hate to see lawsuits popping up because somebody feels that a light is the absolute determining factor in making a RTP decision. The video does state (and the manufacturer does reiterate) the chinstrap is not a golden bullet for determining the need to sit an athlete. Unfortunately, when working in a litigious society and a highly competitive game like football, the meaning of the little yellow/blue/red LED can be quickly distorted to serve nefarious purposes.

Further complicating this device is that it can become a goal of the opponents to try and change the color of the LED by hitting harder. After a recent experience with my linemen playing a side game during football by keeping score of the number of "packages" they could grab from the bottom of piles, I wouldn't put it past my players to come up with this goofy idea too.

One more idea just struck me. These detectors would also need to have some sort of reset switch on them that could only be activated by the ATC or the team physician. If an athlete sustains a powerful hit that they saw coming and was able to brace for, the hit may still register as a potential TBI by changing the LED color. However, the medical personnel may see no reason to hold an athlete because of a lack of symptoms. This would require the LED to be reset so as not to alarm anyone. However, the system would require a key or a fob of some sort to allow only the ATC or physician to reset it. It would serve no purpose to allow the athlete to be able to reset it.