Measuring Head Impacts in Sports

October 28, 2014 updated by: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Head Impact Recording Technology for Field Applications

Head impacts in sports can lead to brain injury even when the participant is wearing a helmet. The forces that contribute to brain injury from sports-related head impacts are not well understood. This study will test a new device to measure the speed of head impacts among football players.

Study Overview

Status

Withdrawn

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Each year, 50 to 70 million people in the United States participate in helmeted and unhelmeted sports with the potential for head impacts. Such sports include football, soccer, hockey, basketball, and boxing. Participating in these sports carries the risk of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). The biomechanics of head impacts that result in concussions or other MTBIs are not well understood; however, it is thought that such impacts correlate with head accelerations. Currently, there is no system that allows researchers to measure head acceleration in a large number of individuals during actual play. This is a major obstacle in understanding the mechanism of MTBI and its prevention. This study will evaluate a newly designed miniature device that uses Head Impact Recording Technology (HIRT) to quantify head acceleration during impact in actual sports play.

One hundred college football players will be enrolled in the study. Data from HIRT-instrumented helmets will be collected during normal team practice and games throughout a 5-month football season. Data collected will be assessed to determine the incidence, magnitude, and duration of head acceleration during impacts on the sports field.

Study Type

Observational

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • State College, Pennsylvania, United States, 16801
        • Penn State University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 24 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria

  • College football players

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Impact Severity
Time Frame: Immediate
Immediate

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Rick Greenwald, Ph.D.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 14, 2003

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 14, 2003

First Posted (Estimate)

May 15, 2003

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

October 30, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 28, 2014

Last Verified

March 1, 2004

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R44HD040743-02 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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