Download Is it possible to avoid serious brain injury in contact sports?

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Irish Independent Tabloid - Stem Supplement
Wednesday, 13 November 2013
Page:
8,9
131161
67900mm²
Is it possible to avoid serious
brain injury in contact sports?
Gum shield
TTl/T A Vvit-r fin
can help identify
I'M A big fan r>-f
of iriQ
ice linnVoir
hockey and
when one of the sport's biggest
stars, Sidney Crosby, suffered
serious concussion during a
game, it set me thinking.
Ice hockey is a very physical
sport and players experience
multiple head injuries in a year.
After that incident, in
January 2011,Crosby missed
over 60 games. Initially the
concussion went undetected
and it took medical staff six
days to diagnose it. A series of
tests and game revisions led to
the discovery that he had also
suffered concussion in a game
three days earlier.
What Mr Crosby had
experienced is known as
second-impact syndrome and
the inability of the medical staff
to detect his concussion
resulted in him needing
prolonged medical attention. It
was only in 2013 that he
returned to his previous form.
Closer to home, two Dublin
players suffered concussion
during this year's All-Ireland
final, including full-back Rory
O'Carroll, who continued
playing after the incident in the
second half.
Dublin had no substitutes
left at the time.
risk to a sports
TVlO Rolfoot
The Belfast /irvrnrvo?*
coroner t-aoon+ltr
recently
recorded the first death from
second-impact syndrome in
Northern Ireland - and
probably the UK - in a case
involving a 14-year-old rugby
player, Benjamin
Robinson.
Second-impact
syndrome can occur
when a player is
concussed yet continues
to play. Concussion can
go undetected and, if a
second impact occurs,
the effects are
cumulative, and
can be fatal or
have serious
repercussions
on a player's
mental
health. It is
said to have
a mortality
rate of 50pc
among
young
athletes.
I designed
my product
to help
medical staff
identify a
concussion
before second-
persons
brain,
says Mark
impact ciitrt^rn-mo
syndrome icis
experienced.
It is a gum shield with
integrated sensors - an
accelerometer, a gyroscope and
a magnetometer, a combination
currently used on aircraft.
They can measure
acceleration, force and 3D
orientation.
Once the player
wearing the gum shield
experiences an impact,
the data is sent
wirelessly to a
computer and
can inform the
medical staff
on the
sidelines if
a player is
in danger
of being
concussed.
I I
developed
it as a
final-year
project in
the Dublin
Institute of
Technology
(DIT), where I
graduated in
2012 with a BSc
in product design.
Dillon
T cntsnt
I spent timo
time uri+Vi
with
neurosurgeons in Beaumont
Hospital, Dublin and also
shadowing maxillofacial
surgeons in St James's Hospital,
Dublin.
While initial research was
based around the role the
helmet plays in contact sports,
after my time with medical staff
and professors it became
obvious that many concussions
in contact sports arise from
impact around the jaw area.
Through various brainstorms
and concept- development
stages, Mamori - a Japanese
word meaning to protect or
shield - took shape.
• Mark Dillon (23) from
Ballinteer, Dublin, recently
concluded a Master's in Medical
Device Design at the National
College of Art and Design and is
currently looking for a job.
• His Mamori gum shield was
one of 20 products (out of 650
entries) shortlisted for the
James Dyson Award 2013, an
international student
competition that celebrates,
encourages and inspires the
next generation of design
engineers.
Irish Independent Tabloid - Stem Supplement
Wednesday, 13 November 2013
Page:
8,9
MAMORI
1.TheMamorigum
shieldhasbuilt-in
sensorsto measure
forceandhead
movement.
2.Theinformation
is transferred
wirelessly,inreal-timeto a
computer.Theforcefromeach
impactis measuredanddisplayed
onscreen.Oncethe forcethreshold
is exceededthe userwillbe
notified.Information
is storedin
the eventlog.
3.Headmovement
experienced
inimpact
isshownonscreen,
onceanimpacthas
occurredthe headwill
glowred.
Pictured:MarkDillon.
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