I1 Biometrics said University of South Carolina football team members will wear its Vector MouthGuard starting this spring to measure the brain’s linear and rotational accelerations from impacts experienced in practices and games.
Several NCAA Division-I football teams are leveraging the Vector MouthGuard from I1 Biometrics as a way to accurately and consistently collect a detailed amount of individual data about head impacts sustained during practices and games.
The University of South Carolina is the latest major NCAA football program to adopt the Vector MouthGuard and the Impact Intelligence System from I1 Biometrics. Louisiana State University wore the sensing devices in 2014 and the University of Kansas announced earlier this month that Jayhawk players will wear the high tech mouthguards in 2015.
The Vector MouthGuard shown to the right uses a carefully developed and tested algorithm to measure, translate and transfer data to a handheld, mobile device used by trainers on the sidelines. The data can show the magnitude, location and direction of the impact, which can assist the athletic training staff with not only real-time awareness of forces for further medical evaluation of players, but also for post-event understanding of how those forces affect individual athletes over time. There is more and more evidence showing that the mechanisms of brain injuries sustained in sports are highly individualized.
“Concussion management is an area football and other sports programs at all levels are trying to improve in an effort to elevate player safety,” said Jesse Harper, CEO of I1 Biometrics, which is headquartered in Kirkland, WA.
“The Vector MouthGuard with ESP Chip Technology leverages a highly sensitive and accurate micro electronic technology to relay critical head impact information back to the sideline in real-time, reducing some of the guesswork for trainers and coaches. It is our hope that this is seen as a very positive move in the right direction for all who participate, coach or care for athletes in contact sports and we appreciate industry leaders like the University of South Carolina adopting our technology as a way to help remove some of the guesswork involved in head impacts.”
I1 Biometrics’ Vector MouthGuard utilizes ESP Chip Technology to provide highly accurate and reliable, real-time data about not only the number of hits but also the exact magnitude, direction, location and time of such impacts. Leveraging three years of R&D and scientific validation, the Vector and the complete Impact Intelligence System helps athletic trainers and sports concussion specialists realize measurable results from objective performance analytics to better provide individualized athlete care.
