Austin company tackles concussions

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Hard hits and violent tackles are shaking up the sports world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , concussions are now the second-leading cause of brain injuries to people ages 15 to 24, behind motor vehicle crashes. 

Sports concussion protection, and detection, are now at the forefront of player safety, and an Austin-based company is using technology to meet the issue head-on.

On Dec. 8, Cleveland Browns' quarterback (and former Texas Longhorn) Colt McCoy took a vicious hit to the head. He was helped off the field by the Browns' training staff, examined on the sideline, and returned to the game just two plays later.

It wasn't until he was leaving the locker room, after the game, that he began showing signs of concussion. He was out the remainder of the season.

The NFL has rules in place to protect the players from helmet-to-helmet tackles, but concern over safety has filtered down to all levels of contact sports.

"The things that have happened in the NFL with their new tackling rules, and not leading with the head in tackling, has been a positive thing and I think will funnel down through us," said Westlake High School head football coach Darren Allman.

As a coach at Westlake, Allman has resources like doctors and equipment that are not available at all public schools because of cost.  Even he admits, the injuries can sometimes go unnoticed.

"So, what you look for when players come off the field to the sideline, you're looking for alertness, their speech, and how they're communicating back and forth with you," added Allman.

Sometimes concussion symptoms don't show for days after the initial contact. But Austin-based Treehouse Labs is using modern technology to measure the impact of a hit real-time, so coaches and trainers know when a player is at risk of injury.

"The technology puts a shock sensor in the football helmet, and that's hooked up to a radio," said Treehouse Labs CEO John Howard.  "[The radio] can attach to an iPhone or iPad, or any mobile phone device that a coach or trainer would have. When an impact occurs, that alarms the coach, and they can look at the app, and they can look at the level of impact."

Sometimes it takes a drastic event for officials to change safety policy. Six years ago, Westlake offensive lineman Matt Nader suffered cardiac arrest during a game and needed to be revived on the sideline. Now, there are automatic electronic defibrillators (AEDs) at every game, and concussions could be going down that same road.

"We didn't have AEDs before that," said University Interscholastic League executive director Dr. Charles Breithaupt. "Matt came and testified to our medical advisory committee. They proposed that rule change and the schools adopted it. I think it sometimes takes a tragedy to get people's attention to make those things happen."

Concussion sensor technology is still in its design phase, but lower cost is making it more feasible for high school sports.

"From the data we collect, we can tell point of impact, direction, how hard it was and how the brain moved," said Howard. "So, we can detect things like whiplash."

The concept would allow parents, with a password, to view their player's medical record. But, among the challenges is not creating chaos with fear. Detecting concussions is an inexact science.

"Actual eye-to-eye contact with a physician that is an expert at noticing symptoms of concussion," said Allman. "I don't think there's any replacement for that."

Treehouse Labs is hoping a trained eye and its impact sensor can coexist.

"We want to be able to monitor a game, a season, even a career, and store those records, so we can begin to understand how to protect our youth a little better," said Howard.

The current UIL concussion protocol requires a licensed medical professional to evaluate the injured player.  That player must refrain from activity for a 24-hour period and could be out of competition for a month in order to recover.