Samsung reveals brainBAND to track concussions
Samsung Electronics Australia has announced the Samsung brainBand which will help coaches and medics to track concussion injuries in athletes. The brainBAND is a wearable device and its prototype was developed through the Samsung Launching People program, an initiative that brings together experts from different backgrounds to see how tech can help solve problems in society.
The brainBand is a creation of Dr. Alan Pearce, a neuroscientist involved in concussion research and education and Braden Wilson, an industrial designer who worked with Samsung on the program.
They created brainBand so that it can track impacts to the head in contact sports in real-time, with the aim to use this data to better understand concussion in sport and the ongoing impact on the brain. The prototype has sensors at the back of the head that measure the force of an impact.
Information gathered through the brainBand will be then relayed via an app to medics, referees and coaches, all in real-time to their devices. LED lights embedded in the headband will indicate the level of impact of a hit: yellow, orange and red for high alert, indicating when a player should be taken off the field for medical assessment.
The headband was tested by by Australian football player Israel Folau, who said, “I think it’d be great if every player in Australia had access to this kind of technology to make contact sports safer for current and future generations.”
There is no information on when the brainBand will be available for sports teams around the world. The launch of brainBand will help athletes in tracking and reducing concussion effects.
