Development of a head impact monitoring “Intelligent Mouthguard”

Abstract

The authors present the development and laboratory system-level testing of an impact monitoring "Intelligent Mouthguard" intended to help with identification of potentially concussive head impacts and cumulative head impact dosage. The goal of Intelligent Mouthguard is to provide an indicator of potential concussion risk, and help caregiver identify athletes needing sideline concussion protocol testing. Intelligent Mouthguard may also help identify individuals who are at higher risk based on historical dosage. Intelligent Mouthguard integrates inertial sensors to provide 3-degree of freedom linear and rotational kinematics. The electronics are fully integrated into a custom mouthguard that couples tightly to the upper teeth. The combination of tight coupling and highly accurate sensor data means the Intelligent Mouthguard meets the National Football League (NFL) Level I validity specification based on laboratory system-level test data presented in this study.

High Energy Side and Rear American Football Head Impacts Cause Obvious Performance Decrement on Video

“…Also, the range of impact magnitudes, as well as impact locations confirmed that on-field data in this study fell within the ranges of calibration from the laboratory with the exception that the Virginia Tech Sensor 5 laboratory tests in the Appendix (Electronic supplementary material) did not calibrate the IMM response to facemask impacts. However, facemask impact calibrations have been published elsewhere, 6 Hedin et al, 31 Bartsch et al, 4 Bartsch et al, 3 Domel et al 15 submitted) and the impacts collected in this study fell within the published facemask calibration ranges.…”

Characterizing Head Impact Exposure in Men and Women During Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts

“…Upon enrollment into the study, 23 participants were instrumented with an IMM, which has been described and validated. 3,4,18 All mouthguards fit snugly on the participants' upper dentitions, and adjustments could be made if necessary for comfort of fit before use in sparring or competition. Participants wore the IMMs while research personnel captured time-stamped video recordings for all sparring sessions (n ¼ 54) and competitions (n ¼ 6).…”

“…3,4 When the Hybrid III head forms were used to assess IMM results within the impact acceleration profiles of American football and boxing, IMM data were correlated with reference data for PLA, PAA, and peak angular velocity ( R 2 ≥ 0.98 for each metric). 3,4,18 Improved coupling and error margins <5% represent a substantial improvement over other impact dosimeters. 3,4…”

“…27,31 To address the unmet need of an instrument that accurately and precisely measures head impacts during sports, we developed and tested an Impact Monitoring Mouthguard (IMM) system in vitro and in vivo for this project, and it has subsequently been commercialized. 3,4,18 The IMM utilizes a flexible circuit embedded within a custom mouthguard that contains 4 accelerometers, each producing 3 channels of data, with a custom algorithm that translates the impact kinematics data—linear and angular accelerations and velocities—to the head CG in real time.…”

“…3,4 When the Hybrid III head forms were used to assess IMM results within the impact acceleration profiles of American football and boxing, IMM data were correlated with reference data for PLA, PAA, and peak angular velocity (R 2 0.98 for each metric). 3,4,18 Improved coupling and error margins <5% represent a substantial improvement over other impact dosimeters. 3,4 Given the popularity of the helmet-bound HIT System and the relative popularity of various sports in the past decade, the majority of available research regarding impact counts and magnitudes collected during sport participation has included populations of athletes participating in American football, distantly followed by ice hockey and soccer, with even fewer data on snow sports, lacrosse, rugby, and boxing.…”