The Most Promising Technology Advancements In Football
There is no question that the long-term effects of concussions are a serious issue facing the sport of football. However, most football-related deaths are not actually linked to head trauma. It is actually heart failures and heat illness that contribute to the high levels of death. A 2013 study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine examined 242 high school football fatalities from 1990 to 2010 and found that heat illness and heart failure were twice as common as blunt force trauma in all the deaths recorded during this two-decade span. While it is devastating to see people lose their lives to the game that they love, it is encouraging to see new technologies on the horizon that aim to make the sport safer for everyone. I recently read this article, outlining some of the greatest advancements in football safety that we have to look forward too.
Here are the top 4 advancements in football safety:
1) Mobile Virtual Players
Head coach Buddy Teevens of Dartmouth College eliminated tackling in practice back in 2010. Instead of players, the team has been using robots, known as Mobile Virtual Players. The equipment was designed by a former Dartmouth football player, in an attempt to limit the brunt of the punishment during tackling drills, sparring humans potential harm. NFL officials are beginning to catch wind of this technology, and they have met with Teevens to discuss the robot’s effectiveness. “We are always interested in new technologies that will improve training techniques with an eye toward the health and safety of players,” says Jeff Miller, NFL’s senior vice president of health and safety policy.
2) BrainScope
The NFL has partnered with General Electric in an effort to discover new safety improvements for the sport. The two businesses recently gave $500,000 to the Maryland-based start-up BrainScope for further development of its mobile device that can conduct and analyze electroencephalograms, enabling the diagnosing of brain injuries immediately after a collision. The products, which use electrodes attached to a mobile device, are not yet cleared for commercial use, but we should expect to see them very soon!
3) Heart Health Questionnaire
The medical community is currently divided on whether EKG screenings are an effective way to uncover heart problems in athletes. Many believe they are unreliable, giving false positives and false negatives, including the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. These organizations support the use of a 14-point questionnaire about symptoms and family heart history, which can be assessed by physicians for further testing or monitoring.
4) Guardian Caps
Guardian Caps estimates that over 40,000 of its padded coverings are used across the United States by football and lacrosse teams. The padding fits over helmets and hooks to face masks, reducing impact by up to 33 percent. This technology has been cleared by the National Federation of State High School Associations for use in practice and games. The Atlanta-based company is also committed to helping to aid brain injury research, donating 5 percent of its profits to research.
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