Head Impact Telemetry System
Head Impact Telemetry System (HITS) and Sideline Response System. Working with collaborators in Wake Forest University School of Medicine's Biomedical Engineering and Wake Forest Baptist Health's Neurosurgery, we are looking at the imaging correlates of traumatic brain injuries in football players.
This study uses sensors that measure head acceleration into the helmets of varsity football players. By identifying the factors of an impact that affect TBI, the design of protective devices can be improved and treatments can be specialized based on the mechanism of injury.
Information about the biomechanical characteristics of TBI in sports has the potential to contribute to other fields of research such as military protection and motor vehicle safety mechanisms.
Kinematics of Impact Data Set (KIDS)
This is a collaboration with the WFU School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, and Virginia Tech. This study will instrument and map the head impact exposure of youth football players for all age groups from 6 years through 18 years. This program will consist of over 240 instrumented helmets on six different football teams in Virginia and North Carolina.
We anticipate that this research program will greatly enhance the understanding of child brain biomechanics and will lead to improvements in youth practice and game techniques as well as the development of improved helmets specifically designed for children. The study is the first of its kind to look at the full age spectrum from ages 6 to 18.
SIMON
Development of a novel method of semi-automated landmark identification to allow for the creation of mapping functions that describe changes of the brain with age with regard to structure. This will help researchers understand how the morphology of the brain is correlated to the biomechanics and functional outcome of brain injury.