Major Advance in Athlete Concussion Assessment
A few years ago, my son David was a midfielder on his high school varsity lacrosse team. During one of his games, he had fielded a pass from a teammate and was proceeding to dart upfield toward the opposing goal. He feinted a cut to his left, and then sprinted forward. Then, just as suddenly, he dropped to the ground, knocked unconscious by an opponent who had struck his helmet from behind with his lacrosse stick.
After some very anxious moments, David revived, but we were immediately concerned that he had suffered a concussion. He was evaluated by a physician attending the game who confirmed the diagnosis. As a result of his injury, David didn't return to his school classes for a week, and was not cleared for return to play for an additional two weeks. David himself decided for a variety of reasons that it was time for him to hang up his lacrosse stick and call it a career. While he suffered no long term ill effects from his injury, he knows plenty of teammates who have been concussed multiple times and wonders to this day about their well being.
ESPN estimates that annually, up to 400,000 school age children receive concussions. It is also estimated believed that 40% of school aged athletes who experience concussion return to play too soon, largely due to the relative lack of senstivity of the diagnostic tools used to evaluate them, which are typically subjective assessments performed by athletic trainers under static testing conditions. These athletes as a result, may be unintentionally put at risk of substantially greater harm associated with second impact syndrome should they be reinjured.
BFS Innovations represents Trazer (www.trazer.com), the multi-patented Health Risk Assessment system designed to provide objective measures of athlete cognitive and physical performance in simulated play conditions. Unlike subjective, static measures commonly used by athletic trainers to judge an athlete's clearance for return to play, Trazer allows athletes to be assessed in simulated play situations using video consoles which guide their actions and reactions. With Trazer, players who might otherwise seem intact upon initial, subjective inspection, can be screened using objective measures to discern if they are still recovering from the effects of their injury.
Trazer enables athlete health risk assessments that take the guesswork out of the evaluation process. It adheres to the international Zurich Concussion Guidelines and has been adopted by University of Alabama Football, the Cleveland Clinic and others.
Please contact me if you would like to learn more about this powerful system that should become an essential part of every high school, college and pro athlete safety procedures. In fact, we will soon bring Trazer to NFL and NHL executive management for their consideration, as it offers supplemental concussion baseline and recovery screening capability to complement their existing diagnostic systems. Stay tuned for reports on our progress.
It's Almost Time for Fruhlapalooza 2014!
Yes, it's almost time for my annual visit to the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area. This November 11th-14th, I will be visiting with current clients and prospective customers in the tri-State area. If you are interested in visiting with me during this time, please let me know as soon as possible. Currently, I still have limited openings, but these will almost certainly close by the end of this week. Please contact me today if you'd like to discuss your needs for the coming year.
Since 2005, BFS Innovations has helped its Fortune 500 clients with technology scouting, new business creation and development services. Contact Michael today at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 614 937-2408 to discuss your company's needs.
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