More can be done to prevent brain injuries and brain diseases in sports.
ACT Head Impact Tracker.
Because you should know. Protect your assets.
#youshouldbeACTingonit
ACT Head Impact Tracker.
Because you should know. Protect your assets.
#youshouldbeACTingonit
Frequent jolts, bumps and impacts on a head occur in multiple sports, at all levels, and affect all genders and age groups. Make no mistake, they are not “a dedicated challenge” for few sports like American Football, boxing, ice-hockey and rugby. Sports like football (soccer), basketball, handball, floorball, cycling, skating, scooting, equestrian sports, Alpine sports, motor sports and many more are also very much affected. These jolts, bumps and impacts on a head cause it to move, which makes brain to move, rotate or twist within the skull, causing shear forces and potentially damaging brain tissue. Gears like helmets and mouth guards will not solve the problem, they are not placed between the brain and the skull. More actions are needed.
Jolts, bumps and impacts on a head may cause Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
and contribute to variety of brain diseases.
There is frustratingly little modern medicine can do to them.
There is no medication, no cure. So things should not go that far.
Prevention is the key.
And it starts and is managed with data.
THAT’S WHY WE CREATED ACT HEAD IMPACT TRACKER.
Manage these things on all athletes across their whole athlete pathway:
1. Decrease MAGNITUDE of impacts and forces acting on a head.
2. Decrease NUMBER of impacts and forces acting on a head.
3. Decrease FREQUENCY and reduce PROXIMITY of impacts and forces acting on a head.
Data from ACT Head Impact Tracker will help you to do it.
ACT Head Impact Tracker is simple, affordable, easy to use and versatile device, which can be used in virtually any sport – as long as it is done on a dry land. You can use it to measure and track individual athlete or team of athletes; in sports where helmets are used and those where not; on professional, recreational and junior levels; on men and women, boys and girls and anything in between. This is how it works:
1. Athlete wears ACT Head Impact Tracker head sensor attached to a headband, other type of a headwear, or helmet.
2. ACT Head Impact Tracker smartphone App is on the sidelines and listens to the sensors.
3. When an event with an impact or forces 10g or over act on a head, the affected athlete’s head sensor starts sending information to the App.
4. When the information has been transferred from sensor to the App, it is forwarded to the cloud. Cloud converts the received information to relevant data and adds it to the user accounts with granted access for it.
5. The event data appears to the athlete’s profile in the App(s) and in Browser Access -tools.
When relevant data transfer technologies are active and available, this takes no more than few seconds.
1. Coaching/training/team personnel
Complement sensory evaluation on the sidelines, “What happened?”
PREVENT PROXIMITY TO LOWER THE RISK OF SIS & OTHER CONSEQUENCES
2. Coaching
When, where, why, to whom, how hard and how often. How to make things better and healthier.
DECREASE MAGNITUDE, NUMBER & FREQUENCY TO LOWER THE RISK OF BRAIN DISEASES.
3. Players
Improve awareness and understanding, advocate the change in attitudes and behavior.
PREVENT MAGNITUDE TO LOWER THE RISK OF TBI & MORE.
4. Families of athletes
PEACE OF MIND.
5. Sponsors, media and partners
GIVE THEM THE BEST REASON TO COOPERATE.
1. Improve decision-making quality and accuracy
Getting objective numeric measurement data on the impacts and forces acting on a head can help you to better understand what has happened. It is not always at all clear if the head was impacted, who were affected, or if there was one or multiple events to it. And it is virtually impossible to estimate just how violent the impact and forces acting on a head were. But there and then, when something happens, the decision must be made by someone (who often is not a medically trained professional):
a.) “It was probably nothing, right? Get back in there.”
b.) “Maybe you should sit this one out and take it easy for a day or two.”
c.) “Into the locker room, change and go get checked by medical professional.”
d.) “Call an ambulance!”
2. Decrease the risk of brain injury and brain diseases in short, medium, and long term by decreasing the number, magnitude, frequency and proximity of impacts and forces acting on a head.
Use numeric restrictions, magnitude restrictions, improve techniques, apply relevant physical trainings, adjust trainings and drills, validate effectiveness on action taken, follow up on compliancy and if objectives set are reached.
If in doubt, sit them out.
If there is any suspicion or doubt about a brain injury, the individual should be safely removed from the activity immediately. Athletes who may or do experience a brain injury, such as a concussion, should be properly evaluated by medical professionals and should not return to sports until they have been fully recovered, and cleared to do so by a medical professional.
Prevention is the key to avoiding Second impact syndrome (SIS). Second impact syndrome is a rare and extremely dangerous medical condition that can occur when an individual sustains a second brain injury, typically a concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), before fully recovering from a previous brain injury. SIS is most commonly associated with sports-related brain injuries and most commonly seen in young individuals, such as children and teenagers, whose brains are still developing and may be more vulnerable to injury.
g-force, linear acceleration/deceleration
Regarding individual and infrequent events, in many studies acceleration/deceleration under 40g have been considered likely not to cause permanent damage, but it can be extrapolated that the probability of permanent damage starts to increase in impacts within the range of 40-60g and higher. Some research studies have suggested that exceeding 70-100g or more, is associated with an increased risk of concussion.
It is important to note that these thresholds are not universally agreed upon within the medical and scientific communities and can vary depending on multiple factors (such as age, gender, impact history, brain injury history, and many more). Thresholds should not be used as general guidance.
rad/s, angular velocity (available when measuring with ACT Head Impact Tracker head sensor Pro)
In the context of brain traumas, rad/s can be used to quantify the rotational forces experienced by the brain during an injury event. Rotational motion can lead to diffuse axonal injury, which is a common type of injury associated with brain trauma. At the moment there is no specific universally accepted threshold of rad/s that could definitively diagnose a concussion, or permanent brain damage.
Impact g-load (available through Browser Access only)
The relationship between the magnitude and duration of linear acceleration/deceleration and the risk of sustaining a concussion is one part of a complex picture. The biomechanics of brain injury are multifaceted. At the moment there is no specific universally accepted threshold of Impact g-load (AUC) that could definitively diagnose a concussion, or permanent brain damage.
IMPORTANT! The above thresholds are not to be used as general guidance. Precautionary principle should apply. Brain injuries can result from a combination of forces and factors, including linear and angular forces, duration of the impact and more. Threshold for an injury vary significantly among individuals.
IF YOU ATTACH SENSOR TO THE HELMET, please notice that sensor measures what it is attached to. The impact forces measured from the helmet are likely to be higher than those acting on your head inside the helmet. How much higher depends on factors like helmet type, how old it is and which part of the helmet the forces act on. If you have 2 sensors at your disposal, you can approximate the conversion rate for the helmet you are using by attaching one sensor on the head with a headband and one in the helmet and wear it like that for few practices. Compare the data collected by the sensors, divide the helmet measurement with that of measurement on a head in each impact and calculate the average conversion rate.
Repeated head impacts, even those low in magnitude and in the absence of diagnosed concussions (so-called subconcussive events), may lead to subtle and cumulative brain changes, brain diseases and injuries. Such changes may include alterations in brain structure and function, and the accumulation of abnormal protein deposits like tau, which is associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Repeated head impacts may also lead to subtle cognitive changes that can affect attention, memory, and other cognitive functions, and they may not become apparent until later in life.
Frequency of impacts and violent forces acting on a head is a significant factor in assessing the risk of brain injuries and diseases. Cumulative exposure to head impacts, especially subconcussive impacts, can have long-term consequences on brain health. Reducing the frequency of head impacts and implementing protective measures are important steps in mitigating these risks. Long-term monitoring of individuals who are at risk of frequent head impacts, such as athletes or individuals in high-risk professions, is essential.
In contact sports, athletes may experience multiple head impacts in close proximity during a single game or practice session. This close succession of impacts can contribute to the overall risk of brain injury.
Disclaimer and warning
ACT Head Impact Tracker products or services are not protective devices. They do not prevent incidents from happening and they do not protect against injuries or any kind. ACT Head Impact Tracker is a measuring device. ACT Head Impact Tracker products or services are not medical devices and do not provide medical advice, any kind of diagnostics or treatment suggestions for any health problem. ACT Head Impact Tracker products or services, any content or information therein, is not to be used in place of consultation of licensed medical professional. In case of a head impact, or when suspecting one or a concussion, immediately and safely leave the activity and seek help from licensed medical professionals. It is advisable to have an accompanying person if concussion is possible. In case of an emergency, call an ambulance. If you have been given medical advice by a licensed medical professional, always follow that advice despite any information or content in or from ACT Head Impact Tracker. Northern Sports Insight and Intelligence Oy or ACT Head Impact Tracker products or services are not health care specialists, and neither is communication between you and us or ACT Head Impact Tracker forming any kind of doctor – patient relationship.
We have been very fortunate to work with the best in class in our development and testing.
Our promise: We continue working hard every day to become ever better in providing objective, relevant and actionable information on forces acting on a head.
Your promise: Use the data to proactively improve the health, well-being and performance of athletes in short, medium and long-term.
Take it from them. Here’s what some of our users have to say.