Sensor-Laden Mouthguards Record Head Impact Data on the Gridiron
Helmet sensors have been used for years to try to gauge the nuances and consequences of head injuries in contact sports like football, but now a team at Stanford University is hoping mouth guards loaded with sensors can gather head injury data on a much larger scale, helping researchers determine exactly what the human brain's threshold is for those jarring, slot-receiver-coming-across-the-middle impacts. Helmets imbued with all kinds of inertial sensors and gyros have been used with regularity over the past several football seasons to record impact forces and try to quantify what makes hits dangerous or less-dangerous, or whether or not there is a certain number of hits the human brain can sustain before lasting damage sets in. But those sensor helmets are expensive and have yet to be deployed extensively. Related ArticlesTurning a Sensor Toward Concussions and KidsNFL Testing Helmets With Impact-Sensing Accelerometers for Concussion AnalysisUNC Football Team Pops Temp-Taking Pills...